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Intra‐Ethnic Differences in Chronic Pain and the Associated Factors: An Exploratory, Comparative Design
Author(s) -
Kim Hee Jun,
Chang Sun Ju,
Park Hyunjeong,
Choi Seung Woo,
Juon HeeSoon,
Lee Kyungeun,
Ryu Hyunju
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of nursing scholarship
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1547-5069
pISSN - 1527-6546
DOI - 10.1111/jnu.12564
Subject(s) - pain catastrophizing , medicine , quality of life (healthcare) , chronic pain , ethnic group , multivariate analysis , physical therapy , clinical psychology , nursing , sociology , anthropology
Purpose To describe and compare the levels of pain severity and pain interference, pain catastrophizing, and associated factors between elderly Koreans living in South Korea and Korean Americans living in the United States with chronic pain. Methods An exploratory, comparative design was used for this study. A total of 270 individuals (138 Koreans living in South Korea and 132 Korean Americans living in the United States), aged more than 65 years, with self‐reported chronic pain, and defined as at least 3 months of persistent musculoskeletal pain, is included. Outcome variables were pain severity, pain interference, and pain catastrophizing. Multivariate linear regression was conducted to examine factors associated with the outcome variables. Results In multivariate analysis, Korean Americans had higher levels of pain severity and pain catastrophizing than Koreans. Depressive symptoms, sleep quality, and health‐related quality of life were significant factors for pain severity, pain interference, and pain catastrophizing for both groups. Among those factors, health‐related quality of life was the most significant factor for predicting pain severity and pain interference, whereas depressive symptoms were the most significant factor for predicting pain catastrophizing for both groups. Conclusions Intra‐ethnic differences in pain severity and pain catastrophizing were found between elderly Koreans living in South Korea and Korean Americans living in the United States. Clinical Relevance Because unfamiliar sociocultural and environmental factors may influence the pain responses, cultural differences and language barriers should be taken into account in pain research and management strategies for Asian immigrants in the United States. Psychological factors, including depressive symptoms, sleep quality, and health‐related quality of life, should also be considered in chronic pain management for both elderly Koreans and Korean Americans.