"Dentro deste corpo dolorido e cansado estou eu!”: a expressão da dorcrônica em mídias sociais

Abstract

Chronic pain is recognized worldwide as a serious health problem. In Brazil, it is a topic of great impact on public health, as it burdens the Unified Health System - SUS and Social Security. It is believed that understanding the expression of chronic pain in social media can contribute to the implementation of new care models that promote greater adherence to treatment and improve the quality of life of the population, thus, in this context, two qualitative studies were developed, namely : Study 1 that aims to understand the expression of chronic pain in social media and Study 2 that seeks to highlight subjective expressions of people with fibromyalgia about the illness process expressed in a social network. The Virtual Ethnography method was used to collect data, which were organized and submitted to the thematic-reflective analysis proposed by Braun & Clarke (2019). In both studies, it is noted that the expression of chronic pain and fibromyalgia in social media occurs through the search and exchange of information and experiences related to the theme, through the search for support, emotional support and social interaction. We highlight the use of researched media to disseminate treatments, services and various products, which often do not have therapeutic and/or scientific validation. In general, the research reveals a range of interactions established between users of the investigated media, favoring the understanding of experiences lived online and offline, through subjective manifestations about a process of illness and pain, significant, complex, singular and multifactorial, still little studied in the context of the internet. When exploring the virtual scenario, it is verified how much people who experience chronic pain and fibromyalgia reveal that they feel misunderstood, lonely and that they are often socially stigmatized, generating high psychic suffering. Considering social media as a large-scale and far-reaching means of information and communication, they can be highlighted as tools with great potential for the development of more effective and efficient actions by health teams in offering welcoming, guidance and treatments.