Equitable Care for Patients Diagnosed with Stress-Related Exhaustion in Sweden: A Strategi Standing on Feet of Clay?

Patients diagnosed with stress induced exhaustion disorder (ED) often require long sick leave before returning to work. The aim of this study was to describe the experiences of physiotherapists and occupational therapists with respect to interprofessional collaboration and treatment strategies for patients diagnosed with ED. This study has an explorative qualitative design and was conducted as an interview study using a semi-structured question guide. All interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The interviews were conducted at 14 different rehabilitation centres with 12 physiotherapists and 3 occupational therapists. Six of these centres were run within the public sector and 9 were run by private suppliers. The informants had an average of 17 years of experience in their profession, with a range of 4–49 years. The interviews were analysed by means of qualitative inductive content analysis, where the manifest as well as the latent content became visual. The analysis resulted in an overall theme: Equitable care—a strategy on feet of clay, supported by three main categories (a) rehabilitation centres- an isolated island, (b) evidence-based treatments- under the radar (c) patient participation-a double-edged sword. The current organizational structure of rehabilitation centers within Swedish primary health care falls short in meeting the integrated and collaborative care requirements for patients with stress-related exhaustion disorder (ED). Furthermore, the absence of evidence-based treatments poses a challenge in devising personalized and appropriately timed treatment strategies.