A qualitative exploration of stigma experienced by individuals living with higher weight

Doyle, Jess and Staniford, Leanne (2025) A qualitative exploration of stigma experienced by individuals living with higher weight. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

Text (2025DoyleDClinPsy)
2025DoyleDClinPsy.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs.
Download (3MB)

Abstract

This thesis is comprised of four chapters including a systematic literature review, empirical research paper, a critical appraisal and an ethics application section. The systematic literature review synthesises the available qualitative literature exploring the experiences of weight stigma for pregnant people living with obesity. Nine papers were included in the review which were analysed using a thematic synthesis approach. The empirical paper offers an exploration of stigma from the perspective of caregivers of young people living with higher weight. The methodology used involved caregivers participating in a semi-structured interview to discuss their experiences of stigma and the subsequent impacts. Additionally, caregivers were invited to participate in a Photovoice task whereby they were asked to capture what weight stigma means to them and how it makes them feel, visually. The interview data was then analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The critical appraisal includes a summary of the findings from the systematic literature review and the empirical paper followed by a discussion of the considerations, challenges and reflections associated with this research. The fourth section includes the ethics application process of the empirical paper and supporting documents.