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‘Alone with my pain – it can’t be explained, it has to be experienced’. A Norwegian in‐depth interview study of pain in nursing home residents
Author(s) -
Gran Siv Venke,
Festvåg Line S.,
Landmark Bjørg Th
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
international journal of older people nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.707
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 1748-3743
pISSN - 1748-3735
DOI - 10.1111/j.1748-3743.2009.00195.x
Subject(s) - norwegian , nursing , medicine , qualitative research , pain medicine , pain management , pain assessment , psychology , physical therapy , psychiatry , social science , philosophy , linguistics , anesthesiology , sociology
gran s.v., festvåg l.s. & Landmark b.t. (2009) ‘Alone with my pain – it can’t be explained, it has to be experienced’. A Norwegian in‐depth interview study of pain in nursing home residents. International Journal of Older People Nursing 5 , 25–33
doi: 10.1111/j.1748‐3743.2009.00195.x Background. Nursing home residents often have pain as their everyday experiences and experience pain in silence. Objectives. The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of how nursing home residents experienced pain and how it influenced their lives and daily living. Design. The present study applied a descriptive design. Fifteen residents from nursing homes were recruited among the participants in a larger quantitative study who reported having pain. Methods. A qualitative method using in‐depth interviews was used. The data were analysed applying Kvale’s method of interpretive analysis. Results. Two dimensions of pain were identified: physical pain and pain as suffering. These are described in relation to factors that influence the intensity and the consequences of pain experiences. Conclusions. Physical pain may be relieved by various means of pain management. The residents experienced pain as suffering because pain management was not timely, inappropriate, or insufficient and also because of the nature of their social situation in nursing homes. Relevance to clinical practice. Caregivers in nursing homes need to understand how it feels for residents to live with pain, to be interested in and aware of their needs and finally to know how to respond to their pain and suffering.