Article

PURPOSE: To explore and obtain increased knowledge about (i) strategies and
treatments used by individuals with neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury
(SCI) for handling long-term pain, and (ii) their experience, needs and
expectations of SCI neuropathic pain management. METHODS: Qualitative methods
with an emergent research design were used. Eighteen informants who suffered from
long-term SCI neuropathic pain participated. Data were collected with diaries and
thematized research interviews. Content analysis and constant comparison
according to grounded theory were used for the analyses. RESULTS: A model with
four categories emerged: "Pain is my main problem" explained the impact of pain
in the informants' everyday life; "Drugs--the health care solution" described the
informants' experience of pain management; "The gap in my meeting with health
care" described the discrepancy between what the informants wanted and what
health care could offer. "But...this works for me" described treatments and
strategies, which the informants found helpful for pain control and pain relief.
CONCLUSION: Neuropathic pain, one of the major problems following SCI, is
difficult to treat successfully. To improve treatment outcome, health care needs
to listen to, respond to and respect the patient's knowledge, experience and
wishes. Future research needs to address treatments that patients find effective.

Langue : ANGLAIS