A dor da família
: a gestão familiar de dor crónica não oncológica

  • Cristina Bárbara da Costa Freitas Pestana (Student)

Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis

Abstract

Reciprocity between chronic pain experience and some family variables has been widely evidenced in research on this subject, in particular when the unit of analysis is the person with pain and often the spouse or partner. However, the nature of the non-oncological chronic pain experience in the family, in its own perspective, remains deeply unknown. This is a restraining factor in optimizing family involvement in pain relief and control. Therefore, based on the question: what is the nature of family experience of non oncological chronic pain?, a qualitative study was designed, using Grounded Theory Methodology from the perspective of Charmaz (2006, 2014). The unit of analysis was the family as a group of human action that is self-referential. Data collections and analysis was done simultaneously, following the principle of constant comparison, keeping a critical and reflective attitude throughout the entire process to ensure the integrity of the analysis and its internal validity. A total of 11 in-depth interviews were held to 28 members of nine families of adults older than 18 years, with non-oncological chronic pain for at least six months, followed in SESARAM Pain Consultation that agreed to participate, in a free and informed way. In the study emerges a family nature process: Family Pain: The family management of non-oncological chronic pain, based on four categories: Living / Experiencing Pain; Suffering with Family Pain; Developing Strategies for Dealing with the situation; Accepting Chronicity of Pain, that seem to befall in time, sometimes overlapping, and that reflect the family’s multidimensional "work". The emerging process, reinforces the importance of family involvement in the management of chronic pain, identifies aspects of family vulnerability and fragility, and also recognises family support as one of the family's strengths to be positively reinforced by health professionals. These are areas sensitive to family nursing interventions, in order to optimize family involvement in pain management and promote family well-being despite the pain.
Date of Award14 Mar 2017
Original languagePortuguese
Awarding Institution
  • Universidade Católica Portuguesa
SupervisorMaria Do Céu Aguiar Barbieri De Figueiredo (Supervisor)

Keywords

  • Chronic pain
  • Family nursing
  • Pain management
  • Grounded theory

Designation

  • Doutoramento em Enfermagem

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