Patients' opinions of the care and their own well-being before and after the introduction of pain advisers into the primary health care system

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the opinions of patients with chronic pain conditions, as regarded the following points: the feeling of having their pain experience unconditionally accepted (confirmed) at the meeting with the district nurse, their opinions regarding the treatment and knowledge of the chronic pain and the wellbeing related to the chronic pain condition, and whether their opinions changed after the introduction of trained district nurses as ‘pain advisers’. A study area (SA) with five primary health care centres (PHCCs), and a control area (CA) with seven were selected. Before and after the introduction of one ‘pain adviser’ at each PHCC within the SA, the district nurses in both areas were asked to register all the patients older than 16 years with chronic pain conditions whom they were in contact with. A total of 84 (34 SA, 50 CA) patients in 1996 (67% of all the patients who received a questionnaire in 1996) and 60 (43 SA, 17 CA) patients in 1998 (77%) answered a questionnaire. The study showed that patients with chronic pain conditions felt confirmed at the meeting with the district nurse. Furthermore, the patients considered that the pain influenced their well-being to a rather great extent. The advice and recommendations and/or information and education received were also found to be valuable to these patients. After the introduction of ‘pain advisers’ into the SA, some improvements were found in both areas. In the SA only, the patients reported less pain and more knowledge with which to understand the pain as a result of the advice and recommendation and/or the information and education.