Examine acute and chronic pain situations in Hong Kong working populations (original) (raw)
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Family Practice, 2020
Background: Pain affects a person's physical and psychological well-being, work performance and productivity. Working population bear their pain and continue to work which may contribute to the worsening of their pain condition. However, their pain situation was not well-examined. Objective: The aim of the study was to explore the prevalence of acute and chronic pain in the working population in Hong Kong, understand their pain management strategies and determine their preferences with regard to the use of electronic pain management materials. Methods: This was an exploratory online survey. The participants' pain history, their preferences in methods of pain management, the source of the pain management education that they had received, sources and preferences in relation to the use of the Internet for pain education, and the participants' demographic characteristics were collected. Results: A total of 210 participants joined the study, 67% of whom were experiencing pain. Of the group in pain, 71.6% were in chronic pain that has persisted for 3 months or more. Pain intensities ranged from 2.82 to 3.82 on a 10-point numeric scale. Of the participants, 85.7% reported not receiving adequate pain management education, and 91.4% of those agreed pain services were inadequate. Websites and health care professionals were the sources from which they obtained their pain management education. Conclusions: The high prevalence of pain in the working population requires special attention. Health care professionals should be proactive and an online pain management programme can be a solution to address the critical problem of pain in the working population.
Chronic pain: One year prevalence and associated characteristics (the HUNT pain study)
Scandinavian Journal of Pain, 2013
Background The reported prevalence of chronic pain ranges from 11% to 64%, and although consistently high, the calculated economic burden estimates also vary widely between studies. There is no standard way of classifying chronic pain. We have repeated measurements of pain in a longitudinal population study to improve validity ofthe case ascertainment. In this paper, associations between chronic pain and demographic characteristics, self reported health and functioning, work Incapacity and health care use were investigated in a sample from the general Norwegian population. Methods A random sample of 6419 participants from a population study (the HUNT 3 Study) was invited to report pain every three months during a 12 month period. Chronic pain was defined as moderate pain or more (on the SF-8 verbal rating scale) in at least three out of five consecutive measurements. Self reported health and functioning was measured by seven of the eight subscales on the SF-8 health survey (bodily p...
Background: Chronic pain is a major public health problem. The impact of stages of chronic pain adjusted for disease load on societal burden has not been assessed in population surveys. Methods: A cross-sectional survey with 4360 people aged ≥ 14 years representative of the German population was conducted. Measures obtained included demographic variables, presence of chronic pain (based on the definition of the International Association for the Study of Pain), chronic pain stages (by chronic pain grade questionnaire), disease load (by self-reported comorbidity questionnaire) and societal burden (by self-reported number of doctor visits, nights spent in hospital and days of sick leave/disability in the previous 12 months, and by current unemployment). Associations between chronic pain stages with societal burden, adjusted for demographic variables and disease load, were tested by Poisson and logistic regression analyses. Results: 2508 responses were received. 19.4% (95% CI 16.8% to 22.0%) of participants met the criteria of chronic non-disabling non-malignant pain. 7.4% (95% CI 5.0% to 9.9%) met criteria for chronic disabling non-malignant pain. Compared with no chronic pain, the rate ratio (RR) of days with sick leave/disability was 1.6 for non-disabling pain and 6.4 for disabling pain. After adjusting for age and disease load, the RRs increased to 1.8 and 6.8. The RR of doctor visits was 2.5 for non-disabling pain and 4.5 for disabling pain if compared with no chronic pain. After adjusting for age and disease load, the RR fell to 1.7 and 2.6. The RR of days in hospital was 2.7 for non-disabling pain and 11.7 for disabling pain if compared with no chronic pain. After adjusting for age and disease load, the RR fell to 1.5 and 4.0. Unemployment was predicted by lower educational level (Odds Ratio OR 3.27 [95% CI 1.70-6.29]), disabling pain (OR 3.30 [95% CI 1.76-6.21]) and disease load (OR 1.70 [95% CI 1.41-2.05]). Conclusion: Chronic pain stages, but also disease load and societal inequalities contributed to societal burden. Pain measurements in epidemiology research of chronic pain should include chronic pain grades and disease load.
Chronic pain: a population-based study
The Israel Medical Association journal : IMAJ, 2008
The prevalence of chronic pain in the general population ranges from 10% to over 40%, depending on the definition and the population studied. No large study has been conducted in Israel. To evaluate the prevalence of patients with chronic pain, and characterize them in a large community random sample. We conducted a survey of Clalit Health Services members, interviewing them by phone. A random sample of 4063 Clalit members, 25 years or older and Hebrew speakers, were screened for chronic pain, defined as: any pain or discomfort that in the last 6 months has persisted continuously or intermittently for more than 3 months. Eight percent (n=325) refused to participate. Of the 3738 included in the study, 1722 (46%) reported chronic pain in at least one site. Most of the patients were over 50-years-old (62%) (mean age 56 +/- 16, range 27-97 years). Women suffered significantly more than men, as did those who were older, less educated and born in Israel and Eastern Europe. Prevalent painf...
PubMed, 1979
T he impact of chronic pain on patients, the health care system, and society at large is huge. An estimated 50 million to 100 million adults in the United States suffer from chronic pain. 1,2 Chronic pain affects a greater proportion of Americans than heart disease, cancer, and diabetes combined. 3-5 The economic cost is staggering, with more than $100 billion per year in lost productivity and increased health care utilization. 6 The problem is so widespread that The Joint Commission has recommended that physicians consider pain as "the fifth vital sign." 7 The Crisis in the Care of Patients With Chronic Pain Despite the prevalence and seriousness of the problem, patients with chronic pain often remain inadequately treated. One study found that approximately 95% of patients with chronic pain report continued moderate or severe pain after a year of treatment with pain medications. 8 Another study
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Background: Chronic pain is a global public health issue with increasing prevalence. Chronic pain causes sleep disorder, reactive anxiety, and depression, impairs the quality of life; it burdens the individual and society as a whole. The aim of this study was to examine non-medical factors related to the outcome of the treatment of chronic non-malignant pain. Methods: A cross-sectional study with two groups of patients was conducted using a questionnaire with biological, psychological, and social characteristics of patients. Since this study was cross-sectional, it was not possible to determine whether some factors were the cause or the consequence of unsuccessful treatment outcome, which is at the same time one of the disadvantages of cross-sectional studies. Results: The poor outcome of the treatment of chronic non-malignant pain in a multivariate binary logistic regression model was statistically significantly associated with the lower quality of life (OR = 0.95 (95% CI: 0.91–0.9...
A review of chronic pain impact on patients, their social environment and the health care system
Journal of pain research, 2016
Chronic pain (CP) seriously affects the patient's daily activities and quality of life, but few studies on CP have considered its effects on the patient's social and family environment. In this work, through a review of the literature, we assessed several aspects of how CP influences the patient's daily activities and quality of life, as well as its repercussions in the workplace, and on the family and social environment. Finally, the consequences of pain on the health care system are discussed. On the basis of the results, we concluded that in addition to the serious consequences on the patient's life, CP has a severe detrimental effect on their social and family environment, as well as on health care services. Thus, we want to emphasize on the need to adopt a multidisciplinary approach to treatment so as to obtain more comprehensive improvements for patients in familial and social contexts. Accordingly, it would be beneficial to promote more social- and family-orie...
Chronic pain: its impact on the quality of life and gender
Frontiers in Pain Research
BackgroundChronic pain poses a considerable challenge to individuals' well-being, leading to decreased quality of life, limitations in daily functioning, and a higher reliance on healthcare services, resulting in significant economic burdens. In South Africa, chronic pain ranks among the prevalent chronic health conditions, although the exact prevalence might differ across different regions. To address this issue effectively, it is crucial to gain a comprehensive understanding of the problem by utilising the most up-to-date and relevant data available.AimThe aim of this study was to assess the impact of chronic pain on the quality of life and gender of the patients attending a primary healthcare centre.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional quantitative study among chronic care patients at Soshanguve Community Health Centre (CHC). The study utilized a validated Wisconsin Brief Pain Questionnaire to collect data. A total of 331 patients actively participated in the study.ResultsTh...
Pain, 2005
From a biopsychosocial perspective, assessing chronic pain's psychological impact should involve at minimum the measurement of pain severity, functional interference, and pain-related emotional burden. This article details the development of a brief instrument, the 15-item Profile of Chronic Pain: Screen (PCP:S), designed to address these three key elements in a national (US) sample of over 2400 individuals recruited via random digit dialing. Retest reliability, internal consistency, and preliminary validity were excellent. The scales also demonstrated minimal social desirability response bias. A series of confirmatory factor analyses on several distinct samples revealed a stable, 3-factor solution reflecting pain severity, interference, and emotional burden. Finally, national norms were developed by gender and three age groups. In view of its strong psychometric properties, the PCP:S has the potential to serve as a brief, cost-effective assessment tool for identifying individuals whose chronic pain merits more detailed psychosocial evaluation. q
A Questionnaire to Evaluate the Knowledge and Attitudes of Health Care Providers on Pain
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2007
The aims of this study were to survey the knowledge and attitudes of Italian health care professionals toward pain and develop a valid instrument to assess pain knowledge of physicians and nurses. A 21-item questionnaire on a Likert scale was given to 4,961 health professionals in 20 hospitals in Italy who volunteered to participate in the study. The results were analyzed psychometrically in three phases: the Principal Component Analysis phase identified two components, of which only the one that had 10 items about pain knowledge and attitudes (PAK) was studied; the Homogeneity Analysis revealed its acceptable internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha ¼ 0.72) and confirmed the Likert equidistance of the item options response; and the Confirmatory Factor Analysis proved that it had a very good construct validity. A standardized score was calculated on the PAK questionnaire using the final 10 selected items, considering 100% as the best level of knowledge of pain management and 0% as the worst. The standardized mean score on the whole sample was equal to 52.6% (95% Confidence Interval: 52.3%e53.0%). There was a statistically significant difference (P < 0.001) in percentage score between physicians (56.5%) and nurses (51.3%). Knowledge was best among physicians in Anesthesiology and Emergency; this was followed by doctors in Medicine and then surgeons. The knowledge of nurses was almost constant. This scale fills a void by providing a validated instrument for testing the general knowledge about pain treatment of hospital staff. It is brief and can easily be administered to a considerable number of people. J Pain Symptom Manage 2007;33:727e736. Ó