The Experiences of People Living With Chronic Pain During a Pandemic: “Crumbling Dreams With Uncertain Futures”

Amja, Kristina; Vigouroux, Marie; Pagé, M. Gabrielle; Hovey, Richard

doi:10.1177/10497323211014858

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Similar results were found by Amja et al 21 in their qualitative study of back pain patients in Québec, observing two groups of pain patients. On the one hand, there were patients whose pain was well managed by regular pain management and social support who experienced strong changes in the pain management framework because of the COVID-19 measures.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“… 14–20 To date, only a few qualitative studies have examined the experiences of pain patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. 21 , 22 However, Teti et al emphasized that qualitative analyses add scientific value in uncertain situations caused by a pandemic. 23 Qualitative studies can complement quantitative pain research by providing a deeper insight into the perceptions and behaviors of pain patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Living with Chronic Pain During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Analysis

Balestra

Chalk

Spies

et al. 2022

JPR

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Purpose COVID-19 pandemic containment measures have led to changes in various areas of life, including restrictions on health care. Patients with chronic pain may have faced an increased burden during pandemic and the resources of this vulnerable population are unknown. Therefore, a qualitative study was conducted to understand how people with chronic pain have experienced the course of the pandemic. Patients and Methods Twenty semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted six months after the initial lockdown in Germany. The participants were patients with chronic pain who exhibited varying changes in their pain during the first German lockdown, recruited from a German outpatient pain clinic at a Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care. The semi-structured interview guidelines were designed to explore how patients with chronic pain experienced their pain during the pandemic, how they coped, and how they experienced pain management during this time. The interview recordings were transcribed verbatim and coded using the qualitative content analysis method. Results Four themes emerged from the results: differential impact on pain experience, difficulty coping with pain, supportive pain management, and endurance. Conclusion During this uncertain time, it was particularly important to maintain pain treatment in order to establish a sense of safety and stability. This underscores the special role of maintaining therapeutic contact during a pandemic and the potentially special role of telemedicine.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Living with Chronic Pain During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Analysis

Balestra

Chalk

Spies

et al. 2022

JPR

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“…Jobs, school, friends, and all the other activities that we previously enjoyed without thought or concern now challenge us in ways never preconceived. Even if the pain is controlled over time, the loss of opportunity, personal goals, and a projected future of family and friends may change, fade away, or at best may be re-negotiated and perhaps partially returned ( 15 ).…”

Section: Enigmatic Relationship With Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the person living with chronic pain, that experience is one of living in-between, which is the locus of hermeneutics, medical visits, treatments, and a life penciled in all the while punctuated by Chronos. For a more in-depth understanding of hermeneutics, please see the following references ( 4 , 5 , 15 ). Kairos time is where people living with chronic pain spend most of their lives; waiting, wondering, and hoping, while exhausted by the pain and trying to make sense or meaning from their experience.…”

Section: Enigmatic Relationship With Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lives Penciled in, the Reality of Chronic Health Conditions and Trauma: Reflexivity, Health, and Shadowed Identities

Hovey¹,

Pavate²,

Vigouroux³

2022

Front. Pain Res.

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When living with chronic health conditions or experiences of trauma our lives can become perpetually penciled in. The use of the penciled-in metaphor means to arrange our time tentatively: a date, an appointment, a meeting, seeing a movie, or attending a class. In our technologically-driven world of electronic calendars where everything is entered electronically, the utility of the pencil and hand-written agendas have all but vanished. However, for the purpose of this article, the pencil provides a metaphoric common ground to learn about the totality of the disruption experienced by living with chronic health conditions and their residual trauma. The pencil is touchable, tangible and as a researcher and a person who lives with challenging health concerns, metaphors help me to create an understanding of the chaos of living a life in pain with cancer. This article is a person-centered account of the process of reflexive coping and self-processing of pain by a pain researcher and educator. This article focuses on the metaphor of penciled-in lives to provide a qualitative account of experiences of pain from chronic health issues and the trauma both physical and emotional it causes. This act of reflexivity becomes a personal examination of life. It reveals to me my beliefs, decisions, and practices before and during my hermeneutic journey and how these may have prejudiced my thinking and behaviors.

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“…COVID-19 presents significant social and psychological challenges for the general population (Brooks et al, 2020 ), but particularly for those living with a chronic illness who face an additional layer of complexity to life (Amja et al, 2021 ; Druss, 2020 ). People in general with underlaying mental and physical illness are at highest risk of social isolation and consequent adverse psychological effects due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Druss, 2020 ; Razai et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Living with cystic fibrosis during the COVID-19 pandemic: a social connectedness perspective

Harrigan

Bennett

Mulrennan

et al. 2022

International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well

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Purpose This study explores the concept of social connectedness for adults with Cystic Fibrosis (CF), generally and during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, to help inform contemporary CF healthcare. Social connectedness is an essential component of belonging and refers to an individual’s sense of closeness with the social world. Unique disease factors make exploration of social connectedness pertinent, added to by COVID-19, with the CF population potentially facing increased risk for severe illness. Methods Seventeen adults with CF in Western Australia undertook interviews, with findings categorized as overarching themes. Results In a general sense, participants described social connectedness challenges caused by CF, despite which they reported meaningful connections that benefits their mental and physical health. Within a COVID-19 specific context, participants demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity, highlighted the importance of empathy in relation to the pandemic, and described how social support is both an outcome and enhancer of social connectedness. Conclusions This study contributes to limited social connectedness literature within CF and chronic illness in general, highlighting the importance of social connectedness awareness raising, assessments and interventions in CF healthcare inside and outside the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The Experiences of People Living With Chronic Pain During a Pandemic: “Crumbling Dreams With Uncertain Futures”

Cited by 14 publications

References 27 publications

Living with Chronic Pain During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Analysis

Living with Chronic Pain During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Analysis

Lives Penciled in, the Reality of Chronic Health Conditions and Trauma: Reflexivity, Health, and Shadowed Identities

Living with cystic fibrosis during the COVID-19 pandemic: a social connectedness perspective

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