TY - JOUR
T1 - An exploration of the experience of pain among culturally diverse migrant communities
AU - Brady, Bernadette
AU - Veljanova, Irena
AU - Chipchase, Lucinda
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Objective: To explore the ethnocultural influences on the chronic pain experience in three culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Australia. Methods: Six focus groups were conducted with 34 women and 7 men (ages 36-74 years) who selfidentified as Mandaean, Assyrian or Vietnamese. A purposive sample of community-dwelling adults living with chronic pain (daily pain > 3 months) was recruited from community organizations. Participants were asked broadly about the meanings of chronic pain, acceptance, ethnocultural community expectations and approaches to pain management. A standardized interview collected sociodemographic and symptom data for descriptive purposes. Results: Inductive thematic analysis yielded a multidimensional web of themes interrelated with the pain experience. Themes of ethnocultural identity and migrant status were intertwined in the unique explanatory model of pain communicated for each community. The explanatory model for conceptualizing pain, namely biopsychosocial, biomedical or a traditional Eastern model, framed participants' approaches to health seeking and pain management. Conclusions: Chronic pain is theoretically conceptualized and experienced in diverse ways by migrant communities. Knowledge of cultural beliefs and values, alongside migration circumstances, may help providers deliver health care that is culturally responsive and thereby improve outcomes for migrant communities with chronic pain.
AB - Objective: To explore the ethnocultural influences on the chronic pain experience in three culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Australia. Methods: Six focus groups were conducted with 34 women and 7 men (ages 36-74 years) who selfidentified as Mandaean, Assyrian or Vietnamese. A purposive sample of community-dwelling adults living with chronic pain (daily pain > 3 months) was recruited from community organizations. Participants were asked broadly about the meanings of chronic pain, acceptance, ethnocultural community expectations and approaches to pain management. A standardized interview collected sociodemographic and symptom data for descriptive purposes. Results: Inductive thematic analysis yielded a multidimensional web of themes interrelated with the pain experience. Themes of ethnocultural identity and migrant status were intertwined in the unique explanatory model of pain communicated for each community. The explanatory model for conceptualizing pain, namely biopsychosocial, biomedical or a traditional Eastern model, framed participants' approaches to health seeking and pain management. Conclusions: Chronic pain is theoretically conceptualized and experienced in diverse ways by migrant communities. Knowledge of cultural beliefs and values, alongside migration circumstances, may help providers deliver health care that is culturally responsive and thereby improve outcomes for migrant communities with chronic pain.
KW - Chronic pain
KW - Cultural and linguistic diversity
KW - Culture
KW - Ethnicity
KW - Qualitative research
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85049748876&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/19edc297-dab6-358d-b63b-83247f191ff2/
U2 - 10.1093/rap/rkx002
DO - 10.1093/rap/rkx002
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85049748876
SN - 2514-1775
VL - 1
SP - 1
EP - 14
JO - Rheumatology Advances in Practice
JF - Rheumatology Advances in Practice
IS - 1
ER -