Eu e minha dor: convivendo com um processo crônico

Abstract

This work consists of a qualitative research aimed at studying the experience of people living together with benign chronic pain, looking for the existence of patterns which could describe that type of interaction.

The research consisted of two phases: identification of the patterns and validation of knowledge acquired in the first phase. In the identification phase, 100 patients suffering of chronic pain over a period of at least three months were investigated. This investigation allowed the identification of four patterns: non-distinguished, dependent, repulsive, and integrated. The objective of the validation phase was to verify whether other patients recognized and legitimated the knowledge built in the first phase. All patients recognized the four patterns, and in addition it was possible to identify a migration among the patterns over a period of time.

From the perspective of the sickness phenomenon as a constructive process, the investigation allowed the conclusion that the meaning that a patient attributes to his experience and, as consequence, the resources that he makes use of, depend upon the intersection between the life history and the social-economics and cultural context. As the professional learns this process, he may adopt or develop specific techniques of intervention for the management and/or control of pain, which are capable of embracing the specifics of the individual suffering. So, the professional may reduce or not the adherence to the treatment or improve the quality of the assistance provided