scholarly journals Rural Older Adults’ Experiences With Pain From Chronic Illnesses and Its Treatment

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 290-291
Author(s):  
Hyunjin Noh ◽  
Zainab Suntai ◽  
Cho Rong Won
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Pain Treatment ◽  
Insurance Coverage ◽  
Local Area ◽  
Health Insurance Coverage ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Rural Older Adults

Abstract Although pain control is an essential factor in promoting quality of life, pain is undertreated among certain sub-populations, such as older adults and rural residents. The purpose of this study was to explore pain experiences and its treatment among rural older adults. A qualitative research design was adopted to capture the common essence of participants’ experiences through a phenomenological method. Purposeful sampling was used, and the participant criteria was: age 55+, have good thinking skills, resident of Alabama, have chronic/serious health conditions, and experienced pain or discomfort in the last 3 months. Twenty-three participants were recruited from rural counties of West and South Alabama through the local Area Agency on Aging and health and senior service centers. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted via phone and were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify emerging themes and repeated patterns from the data. Our results revealed themes in four categories: 1) impact of pain: physical limitations and coping strategies, 2) Impact of Covid-19: physical health, social, and mental health impact, 3) challenges in pain treatment: transportation (driver/time/cost/Covid-19 exposure) and non-transportation related problems (lacking resources/mistrust/limited health insurance coverage), and 4) suggestions: transportation-related (more transportation options/financial assistance) and non-transportation-related support (improved insurance coverage/non-pharmacological care) . Findings of this study highlight rural older adults’ unique needs in access to pain treatment, further amplified during the Covid-19 pandemic. Increase in sustainable, funded transportation programs and the supply of local pain specialists is critical to meet such needs and improve their quality of life.

scholarly journals Challenges with Pain Treatment for Rural Older Adults: Family Caregivers' Views

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 893-894
Author(s):  
Hyunjin Noh ◽  
Cho Rong Won ◽  
Zainab Suntai
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Pain Treatment ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
Insurance Coverage ◽  
Health Insurance Coverage ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Rural Older Adults

Abstract Family caregivers face various challenges in assisting older adults experiencing pain and difficult symptoms. Living in rural areas poses additional obstacles to their caregiving. The purpose of this study was to explore family caregivers’ lived experiences in caring for older adults with pain and discomfort in rural communities. A qualitative research design was adopted to capture the common essence of participants’ experiences through a phenomenological method. Purposeful sampling was used, and the participant criteria was: age 18+, have good thinking skills, resident of Alabama, provide unpaid assistance to a family/relative who has chronic/serious health conditions and experienced pain/discomfort in the last 3 months. Ten participants were recruited from rural counties of Alabama. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted via phone and were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Inductive, thematic analysis of the data revealed themes in five categories: 1) impact of pain (physical and psychological/emotional toll), 2) coping strategies (faith/contentment with life/logistical adaptation), 3) impact of Covid-19 (physical health/social interaction/mental health/added caregiving), 4) challenges in pain treatment (transportation (time/distance/driver/cost) and non-transportation related problems (healthcare provider issues/health insurance/financial burden)), and 5) suggestions (transportation-related (more transportation options/tailored services) and non-transportation-related support (home-based services/better health insurance coverage)). Findings of this study highlight rural family caregivers’ unique experiences in assisting older adults’ access to pain treatment, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. Policy- and program-level intervention is called for to increase individualized transportation options, improve health insurance coverage, and expand financial support for rural older adults experiencing pain and their caregivers.

scholarly journals “Kicking and Screaming” or “Gracefully Conceding”: Creative Nonfiction Stories of Aging With Multiple Sclerosis

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232110098
Author(s):  
Emma V. Richardson ◽  
Robert W. Motl
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Knowledge Translation ◽  
Creative Nonfiction ◽  
Complex Phenomenon ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cognitive Dysfunctions ◽  
Positive Experiences

Aging with multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex phenomenon. Some individuals report physical and cognitive dysfunctions regarding these combined experiences, whereas others report perceived improvements in quality of life. Beyond this, little is known regarding how people make sense of, and come to embody, negative or positive experiences of MS. Thus, our objectives were to (a) explore how people made sense of aging with MS and (b) present this in an artful, engaging, transformative way. To achieve this, we conducted 40 semi-structured interviews with older adults who had MS, analyzed data using pluralistic narrative analyses, and presented results through two creative nonfictions. We detail our process of creating the nonfictions before presenting the different stories of aging with MS, namely “Kicking and Screaming” and “Gracefully Conceding.” We then offer recommendations and implications for using these stories as knowledge translation devices, and further critique the limitations of these stories in practice.

Pleasant Events, Hopelessness, and Quality of Life in Rural Older Adults

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Forrest Scogin ◽  
Martin Morthland ◽  
Elizabeth A. DiNapoli ◽  
Michael LaRocca ◽  
William Chaplin
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Pleasant Events ◽  
Rural Older Adults

scholarly journals How Do Family Caregivers’ Values Influence Pain Management for Older Adults with Dementia?

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 949-949
Author(s):  
Hui Zhao ◽  
Pamela Kulbok ◽  
Ishan Williams ◽  
Carol Manning ◽  
Rafael Romo
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Pain Management ◽  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Personal Values ◽  
Alternative Therapy ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Dementia Patients

Abstract Professional caregivers rely on formal training when managing pain among patients with dementia, but family caregivers (FCGs) lack this foundation. Instead, FCGs use informal sources that may reflect a values-driven decision-making process. Few studies have examined how FGCs’ personal values impact pain management for dementia patients. We sought to examine the influence of personal values on pain management among FCGs for community-dwelling older adults with dementia using qualitative descriptive methods. Twenty-five adult FCGs, aged from 29 to 95, were recruited in central Virginia. Participants were predominantly white, married, female, and high school graduates. We conducted semi-structured interviews that were audio recorded and analyzed using constant comparative analysis. Four themes emerged: 1) Priority for pain management: when quality of life is valued over other factors (i.e., length of life), priorities focused on no pain, leading to better pain management; 2) Moral perspectives: negative views toward drugs, especially opioids, led to less use and greater report of pain; 3) Beliefs about alternative therapy: negative views led to less likely use of non-traditional approaches and reports of more pain, and 4) Personal experience of pain: past personal experiences of pain (negative or positive) influenced the priority placed on pain management and the FCG’s ability to provide effective pain management. The diverse views held by FCGs demonstrate a value-based process and suggest a modifiable factor in pain management. Helping FCGs reflect biases while reinforcing values that improve pain management would lead to improve pain and quality of life for older adults with dementia.

The role of interpersonal sensitivity, social support, and quality of life in rural older adults

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Wedgeworth ◽  
Michael A. LaRocca ◽  
William F. Chaplin ◽  
Forrest Scogin
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Interpersonal Sensitivity ◽  
Rural Older Adults

Design, measures and sample characteristics of the CadeViMa-Spain survey on quality of life in community-dwelling older adults

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gloria Fernandez-Mayoralas ◽  
Carolina Giraldez-Garcia ◽  
Maria João Forjaz ◽  
Fermina Rojo-Perez ◽  
Pablo Martinez-Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Living Conditions ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Sample Characteristics ◽  
Community Dwelling Older Adults

ABSTRACTBackground: The survey “Quality of life in older adults-Spain” (CadeViMa-Spain) was designed to obtain information about objective and subjective determinants of Quality of Life (QoL) in old age, from a multidimensional perspective. This paper presents the overall description, methodology, sample characteristics and reliability of the measures used.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in a representative sample of 1106 community-dwelling adults aged 60 years and over in Spain. The sample was obtained by a geodemographically-based proportional multistage stratified sampling. A home-based questionnaire included validated scales and questions about sociodemographic characteristics, global QoL, health, family and social networks, financial means and retirement, leisure and social participation, residential environment, and satisfaction with those issues. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted. Cronbach's α coefficients were used to assess internal consistency of the scales.Results: This nationally representative survey furnishes information about global QoL, health-related QoL, resources availability, living conditions, and satisfaction with the assessed aspects, including life domains most valued by this group. In general, community-dwelling older adults reported positive assessments of health, living conditions, and high levels of satisfaction with the different aspects of QoL. The reliability of the measures in this population was good.Conclusions: This survey provides comprehensive and useful information, based on the view of older people themselves, with potential to contribute to health and social policies towards promoting active aging. The database is available for in-depth comparisons.

scholarly journals Maintenance of quality of life improvements in diverse rural older adults.

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 475-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Forrest Scogin ◽  
Martin Morthland ◽  
Allan Kaufman ◽  
William Chaplin ◽  
Grace Kong
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Rural Older Adults

scholarly journals Nurses’ Experiences of Promoting Healthy Aging in the Municipality: A Qualitative Study

Healthcare ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 131
Author(s):  
Fan Wu ◽  
Eva Drevenhorn ◽  
Gunilla Carlsson
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
Team Work ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Qualitative Research Design

The purpose of this study was to describe nurses’ experiences of promoting healthy aging in municipalities. A descriptive qualitative research design based on semi-structured interviews with 13 nurses was employed. The nurses described the importance of giving older adults the possibility to live as individuals, but also that the organization matters as too does the nurses’ own desire to work professionally and with passion. Nurses in the municipality noticed that in today’s world, there is a changing perspective of older adults. They more often want to continue their previous life and care greatly about quality of life and because of this, they also expect more service from their health care. Our study suggests that nurses should be supported to specialize in elderly care and measures should be taken to reduce the gap between vision and reality when it comes to team work.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document