Journal article
Patterns and Perceptions of Self-Management for Osteoarthritis Pain in African American Older Adults
Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), Vol.20(8), pp.1489-1499
08/01/2019
DOI: 10.1093/pm/pny260
PMCID: PMC7963201
PMID: 30541043
Abstract
Objective. To explore and describe older African Americans' patterns and perceptions of managing chronic osteoarthritis pain. Methods. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design incorporating cross-sectional surveys and individual, semistructured interviews. Setting. One hundred ten African Americans (>= 50 years of age) with clinical osteoarthritis (OA) or provider-diagnosed OA from communities in northern Louisiana were enrolled. Results. Although frequency varied depending on the severity of pain, older African Americans actively used an average of seven to eight self-management strategies over the course of a month to control pain. The average number of self-management strategies between high and low education and literacy groups was not statistically different, but higher-educated adults used approximately one additional strategy than those with high school or less. To achieve pain relief, African Americans relied on 10 self-management strategies that were inexpensive, easy to use and access, and generally perceived as helpful: over-the-counter (OTC) topicals, thermal modalities, land-based exercise, spiritual activities, OTC and prescribed analgesics, orthotic and assistive devices, joint injections, rest, and massage and vitamins. Conclusions. This is one of the first studies to quantitatively and qualitatively investigate the self-management of chronic OA pain in an older African American population that happened to be a predominantly higher-educated and health-literate sample. Findings indicate that Southern-dwelling African Americans are highly engaged in a range of different self-management strategies, many of which are self-initiated. Although still an important component of chronic pain self-management, spirituality was used by less than half of African Americans, but use of oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and opioids was relatively high.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Patterns and Perceptions of Self-Management for Osteoarthritis Pain in African American Older Adults
- Creators
- Staja Booker - University of FloridaKeela Herr - University of IowaToni Tripp-Reimer - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), Vol.20(8), pp.1489-1499
- Publisher
- Oxford Univ Press
- DOI
- 10.1093/pm/pny260
- PMID
- 30541043
- PMCID
- PMC7963201
- ISSN
- 1526-2375
- eISSN
- 1526-4637
- Number of pages
- 11
- Grant note
- T32AG049673 / NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA) T32NR011147 / NINR; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) T32NR011147 / NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NURSING RESEARCH; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) T32AG049673 / NIA; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA)
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 08/01/2019
- Academic Unit
- Nursing
- Record Identifier
- 9984370653802771
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