Mann Elizabeth G, VanDenKerkhof Elizabeth G, Johnson Ana, Gilron Ian
School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
School of Nursing and Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Can J Pain. 2019 Feb 22;3(1):8-19. doi: 10.1080/24740527.2019.1570095. eCollection 2019.
: Some individuals with chronic pain do not seek care. This decision may be due to characteristics of the individual, pain, and/or their health professional(s). : This study aimed to identify and compare features of individuals with chronic pain, their pain and general health, and their health care professional between community-dwelling adults who did and did not seek care. : Randomly selected adults were mailed a study questionnaire that screened for chronic pain (pain persisting ≥3 months) and asked about their general well-being (Short Form [SF]-36), pain location (body diagram), pain intensity and characteristics (Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs), experiences with health care professionals (Chronic Illness Resources Survey), and visits made to health professionals over the past year. Respondents were categorized as help-seeking (≥1 visit in the past year) and non-help-seeking (zero visits in the past year). : Six percent of respondents (44/696) were non-help-seeking. These respondents differed in individual, pain, and health care professional characteristics when compared to those who did seek care. Specifically, when other variables were controlled, non-help-seeking individuals were less likely to be male (relative risk [RR] = 0.39, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.18-0.86), report comorbid conditions (RR = 0.46, 95% CI, 0.22-0.98), report being treated as an equal partner in decision making (RR = 0.40, 95% CI, 0.18-0.93), and rate their health care professional as important to their pain management (RR = 0.39, 95% CI, 0.18-0.85). They were more likely to use over-the-counter medication to manage their pain (RR = 2.52, 95% CI, 1.14-5.58). : Experiences with health professionals play a role in determining whether an individual manages his or her pain independently. Future research should explore the safety of those who do not seek care.
一些患有慢性疼痛的人不寻求治疗。这一决定可能归因于个体特征、疼痛和/或他们的医疗保健专业人员。本研究旨在识别并比较在社区居住的成年慢性疼痛患者中，寻求治疗者和未寻求治疗者在个体、疼痛及总体健康状况以及他们的医疗保健专业人员方面的特征。随机选择的成年人收到一份研究问卷，该问卷用于筛查慢性疼痛（疼痛持续≥3个月），并询问他们的总体幸福感（简短健康调查问卷[SF]-36）、疼痛部位（人体图）、疼痛强度和特征（利兹神经病理性症状和体征评估）、与医疗保健专业人员的经历（慢性病资源调查）以及过去一年中拜访医疗保健专业人员的次数。受访者被分为寻求帮助组（过去一年中拜访≥1次）和未寻求帮助组（过去一年中拜访次数为零）。6%的受访者（44/696）未寻求帮助。与寻求治疗的受访者相比，这些受访者在个体、疼痛和医疗保健专业人员特征方面存在差异。具体而言，在控制其他变量后，未寻求帮助的个体男性比例较低（相对风险[RR]=0.39，95%置信区间[CI]，0.18 - 0.86），报告有合并症的比例较低（RR = 0.46，95% CI，0.22 - 0.98），报告在决策中被平等对待的比例较低（RR = 0.40，95% CI，0.18 - 0.93），并且认为他们的医疗保健专业人员对其疼痛管理很重要的比例较低（RR = 0.39，95% CI，0.18 - 0.85）。他们更有可能使用非处方药来管理疼痛（RR = 2.52，95% CI，1.14 - 5.58）。与医疗保健专业人员的经历在决定个体是否独立管理其疼痛方面发挥作用。未来的研究应该探索未寻求治疗者的安全性。
