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What is pain? A phenomenological approach to understanding
Author(s) -
Nay Rhonda,
Fetherstonhaugh Deirdre
Publication year - 2012
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.1748-3743.2012.00329.x
Subject(s) - meaning (existential) , dementia , interpretative phenomenological analysis , psychology , reflection (computer programming) , pain assessment , chronic pain , hermeneutic phenomenology , cognition , lived experience , psychotherapist , medicine , physical therapy , qualitative research , psychiatry , pain management , sociology , disease , social science , pathology , computer science , programming language
nay r. & fetherstonhaugh d. ( 2012 ) What is pain? A phenomenological approach to understanding. International Journal of Older People Nursing 7 , 233–239
doi: 10.1111/j.1748‐3743.2012.00329.x Pain is an individual experience. This paper presents four phenomenological accounts of pain which describe: the pain at the time of the experience; the meaning the pain had at the time of the experience (reflection in); and the meaning of the experience looking back on it (reflection upon). Specifically, the accounts describe pain that is emotional, cognitive and physical (acute and chronic). By exploring the essence of pain using very personal accounts, we encourage nurses to reflect on how their own understanding of pain and individual responses to pain can impact on how they in turn recognise, assess and manage pain in older people and especially those living with dementia. Paper 1 highlights the under‐assessment of pain in older people with dementia. By confronting readers with this paper’s phenomenological approach, it is hoped that they will be challenged to address this situation.