Open AccessThe Experiences of People Living With Chronic Pain During a Pandemic: “Crumbling Dreams With Uncertain Futures”
Author(s) -
Kristina Amja,
Marie Vigouroux,
M. Gabrielle Pagé,
Richard Hovey
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
qualitative health research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.303
H-Index - 113
eISSN - 1552-7557
pISSN - 1049-7323
DOI - 10.1177/10497323211014858
Subject(s) - pandemic , feeling , chronic pain , social isolation , isolation (microbiology) , qualitative research , psychology , activities of daily living , medicine , covid-19 , psychiatry , sociology , social psychology , disease , social science , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
People living with chronic pain experience multiple challenges in their daily activities. Chronic pain is complex and often provokes life circumstances that create increased social isolation. Living with chronic pain during the pandemic may add additional layers of complexity to their daily lives. The researchers endeavored to explore the experiences of people living with chronic pain during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers conducted semi-structured, open-ended interviews about how the pandemic influenced participants' lives. The interviews were recorded and analyzed using an applied philosophical hermeneutics approach. The findings were feeling socially isolated, losing their sense of livinghood, and experiencing augmented stress levels which, in most cases, aggravated their chronic pain. In addition to gaining an in-depth understanding of the needs of people living with chronic pain, these findings may guide policy decisions with the intention of improving health care access and the overall experiences of people living with chronic conditions during a pandemic.