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Pathways from pain to physical and mental health‐related quality of life during the third trimester of pregnancy: an exploratory mediation analysis
Author(s) -
Vignato Julie,
Perkhounkova Yelena,
Saeidzadeh Seyedehtanaz,
Patsais Micayla,
Inman Michaela,
Marie McCarthy Ann,
Segre Lisa S.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1111/jocn.15686
Subject(s) - anxiety , mental health , pregnancy , medicine , quality of life (healthcare) , population , physical therapy , psychiatry , clinical psychology , environmental health , nursing , genetics , biology
Aims and objectives To understand how pain affects physical and mental health‐related quality of life during the third trimester of pregnancy. Background Poor health‐related quality of life during pregnancy is associated with adverse maternal foetal health outcomes such as increased risk of low‐birth‐weight neonates. Poor health‐related quality of life is linked to pain, pain interference and anxiety in the general adult population. However, we do not know how pain, pain interference (i.e., interference of pain with patient function), and anxiety are interrelated during the third trimester of pregnancy. Methods This exploratory cross‐sectional study followed STROBE guidelines. A mobile educational and tracking pregnancy application was used to obtain a racially/ethnically diverse convenience sample of 141 third trimester pregnant women from the U. S. In this sample, 58.2% of women had commercial health insurance, 68.8% were Caucasian, 86.5% were younger than 35 years, and 85.1% had a partner. Women completed demographics, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the Brief Pain Inventory on REDCap. Path analysis was used to investigate a model for the relationships among pain intensity, pain interference, anxiety and physical and mental health‐related quality of life. Results Pain intensity affected health‐related quality of life indirectly by increasing pain interference, which in turn, decreased both physical and mental health‐related quality of life. In addition, pain interference also increased anxiety, which in turn worsened mental health‐related quality of life, but not physical health‐related quality of life. Conclusions Treating perinatal pain may improve health‐related quality of life by decreasing pain interference and anxiety. Relevance to clinical practice Nurses should assess for pain interference and anxiety in women experiencing moderate to severe pain during the third trimester of pregnancy. With this knowledge, nurses may advocate for women in receiving effective treatment for their conditions and improvements in their physical and mental health‐related quality of life.