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Self‐Treatment of Pain in a Rural Area
Author(s) -
Vallerand April Hazard,
Fouladbakhsh Judith M.,
Templin Thomas
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
the journal of rural health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.439
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1748-0361
pISSN - 0890-765X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1748-0361.2004.tb00024.x
Subject(s) - medicine , modalities , medical prescription , context (archaeology) , self medication , alternative medicine , health care , family medicine , nursing , paleontology , social science , pathology , sociology , economics , biology , economic growth
Context: In the United States, 42% of adults say they experience pain daily, the majority often relying on self‐treatment. In addition, an increasing number of people are seeking complementary/alternative therapies, often without informing their health care providers. Purpose: To explore the occurrence of pain and the modalities of self‐treatment used by community members (N = 108) from a rural area of Michigan, the potential for interactions between pain self‐treatment modalities and other medications currently being taken, and demographic variables that might affect self‐treatment choice. Method: This exploratory descriptive study was conducted using a survey method. Findings: Findings revealed that 66% were taking prescription medications, 75% over‐the‐counter medications, 20% herbal supplements, and 35% nonpharmacological treatments. Of the reported prescription and over‐the‐counter medications, 18% were opioids, 77% were nonopioids, and 18% were adjuvant medications. One‐third of the subjects were taking more than 1 medication and/or herbal product or supplement, increasing their risk for potential drug–herb interactions, complicated by the fact that 20% did not inform their primary care practitioner of their self‐treatment choices. Conclusions: This study contributes to the knowledge of current self‐treatment choices regarding pain management and potentially harmful interactions that might occur from using multiple medications and supplements.

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