Ageism, negative attitudes, and competing co-morbidities – why older adults may not seek care for restricting back pain: a qualitative study

BMC Geriatrics

M Carrington Reid⁶  Thomas M Gill¹  Joanna E M Sale⁵  Liana Fraenkel²  Emily G Marks⁴  Robin T Higashi⁴  Una E Makris³ 

[1] Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA;Department of Veterans Affairs, West Haven, CT, USA;Department of Veterans Affairs, Dallas, TX, USA;Department of Clinical Sciences, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA;Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada;Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA

关键词: Musculoskeletal conditions;    Qualitative research;    Back pain;    Aging;   

Others  :  1164381
DOI  :  10.1186/s12877-015-0042-z

 received in 2014-11-15, accepted in 2015-03-25,  发布年份 2015

【 摘 要 】

Background

Back pain, the most common type of pain reported by older adults, is often undertreated for reasons that are poorly understood, especially in minority populations. The objective of this study was to understand older adults’ beliefs and perspectives regarding care-seeking for restricting back pain (back pain that restricts activity).

Methods

We used data from a diverse sample of 93 older adults (median age 83) who reported restricting back pain during the past 3 months. A semi-structured discussion guide was used in 23 individual interviews and 16 focus groups to prompt participants to share experiences, beliefs, and attitudes about managing restricting back pain. Transcripts were analyzed in an iterative process to develop thematic categories.

Results

Three themes for why older adults may not seek care for restricting back pain were identified: (1) beliefs about the age-related inevitability of restricting back pain, (2) negative attitudes toward medication and/or surgery, and (3) perceived importance of restricting back pain relative to other comorbidities. No new themes emerged in the more diverse focus groups.

Conclusions

Illness perceptions (including pain-related beliefs), and interactions with providers may influence older adults’ willingness to seek care for restricting back pain. These results highlight opportunities to improve the care for older adults with restricting back pain.

【 授权许可】

   
2015 Makris et al.; licensee BioMed Central.

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