Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Feb 9:12:315-323.
doi: 10.2147/CIA.S118136. eCollection 2017.

The determinants of coping with pain in chronically ill geriatric patients - the role of a sense of coherence

Anna Andruszkiewicz  1 , Małgorzata Anna Basińska  2 , Mirosława Felsmann  3 , Mariola Banaszkiewicz  4 , Alicja Marzec  3 , Kornelia Kędziora-Kornatowska  5
Affiliations

The determinants of coping with pain in chronically ill geriatric patients - the role of a sense of coherence

Anna Andruszkiewicz et al. Clin Interv Aging. .

Abstract

Background: Given the rising population of the elderly in modern societies, the concern for their good functioning poses a challenge for the 21st century medicine and social services. Senior citizens are at an increased risk of developing chronic conditions, which in turn increase discomfort associated with physiological processes of aging. Sensations of pain have a particular influence on the mentioned discomfort, and pain is prevalent among older people. Therefore, from the perspective of an elderly person and senior care, it is crucial to identify determinants of effective coping with chronic pain.

Objectives: The aim of the research was to assess the relationship between a sense of coherence (SOC) and pain-coping strategies in chronically ill seniors. A total number of 188 individuals were included in the study, of whom 117 were female subjects and 71 were male subjects, with a mean age of 68.38 (standard deviation [SD] =6.35) years in the studied group. Subjects were sampled based on a diagnosis of a chronic medical illness with chronic pain as one of the major symptoms.

Methods: The Polish adaptation of the Orientation to Life Questionnaire (SOC-29) to assess an SOC, the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ) to assess pain-coping strategies, and the visual analog scale (VAS) to assess pain intensity were used in the study.

Results and conclusion: The mean score of respondents' SOC was 133.44 (SD =24.35). Among most common pain-coping strategies used by the respondents were prayer and hope, and the declaration of coping with pain while redefining pain was the least often used coping strategy in the studied group. Individuals with stronger SOC were less prone to catastrophizing and more often declared that they were coping with and could control and reduce pain.

Keywords: chronic pain; older persons; pain-coping strategies; sense of coherence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

References

    1. Elliott AM, Smith BH, Penny KI, Smith WC, Chambers WA. The epidemiology of chronic pain in the community. Lancet. 1999;354(9186):1248–1252. - PubMed
    1. Michel JP, Newton J, Kirkwood BLT. Medical challenges of improving the quality of a longer life. JAMA. 2008;6:688–690. - PubMed
    1. Report PolSenior. Medical, psychological, sociological and economic aspects of ageing in Poland – research project 2007–2010. In: Błędowski P, editor; Mossakowska M, Więcek A, Błędowski P, editors. Analysis of Chronic Pain in Old People in Poland. 2011. pp. 295–307. Polish.
    1. Melzac R, Wall P. The Challenge of Pain. London: Penguin Books Ltd; 1996.
    1. AGS Panel on Persistent Pain in Older Persons The management of persistent pain in older persons. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2002;50(6 Suppl):S205–S224. - PubMed