The Involvement of Significant Others Within a Chronic Pain Management Programme: The Views of Programme Participants and Significant Others
type: CreativeWork
description: The dynamic relationship which is widely recognised to exist between a person’s pain and their social environment provides a strong argument for the inclusion of significant others e.g. friends and family, in chronic pain management programmes. To date research concerning the involvement of significant others in chronic pain management programmes has been dominated by a quantitative approach, with a focus on comparing the effectiveness of programmes with and without the involvement of significant others. What is missing from the literature is research illuminating the perspectives of those with pain and significant others about the involvement of friends and family in pain management programmes. This study utilised a qualitative descriptive methodology to investigate the question: “What are the views of individuals who have participated in a Family Day, delivered as part of the 3 week multidisciplinary chronic pain management programme at The Auckland Regional Pain Service (TARPS), on the involvement of significant others within the programme?” The purpose of this research was firstly to investigate whether the theoretical rationale for involving significant others within a programme is supported in the views shared by those with pain and significant others. Secondly, to provide TARPS with feedback on their service and this may in turn identify opportunities to enhance programme delivery. Thirdly, the findings will contribute to the body of knowledge that informs the delivery of pain management services in general. Semi-structured phone interviews were held with eight people who volunteered to participate in this study after attending a Family Day at TARPS. Conventional content analysis of the interview data resulted in the emergence of two themes: Firstly, the involvement of significant others in the programme is important so that everyone is on the same page about pain and its management and secondly, the involvement of significant others in the programme is impor…
abstract: The dynamic relationship which is widely recognised to exist between a person’s pain and their social environment provides a strong argument for the inclusion of significant others e.g. friends and family, in chronic pain management programmes. To date research concerning the involvement of significant others in chronic pain management programmes has been dominated by a quantitative approach, with a focus on comparing the effectiveness of programmes with and without the involvement of significant others. What is missing from the literature is research illuminating the perspectives of those with pain and significant others about the involvement of friends and family in pain management programmes. This study utilised a qualitative descriptive methodology to investigate the question: “What are the views of individuals who have participated in a Family Day, delivered as part of the 3 week multidisciplinary chronic pain management programme at The Auckland Regional Pain Service (TARPS), on the involvement of significant others within the programme?” The purpose of this research was firstly to investigate whether the theoretical rationale for involving significant others within a programme is supported in the views shared by those with pain and significant others. Secondly, to provide TARPS with feedback on their service and this may in turn identify opportunities to enhance programme delivery. Thirdly, the findings will contribute to the body of knowledge that informs the delivery of pain management services in general. Semi-structured phone interviews were held with eight people who volunteered to participate in this study after attending a Family Day at TARPS. Conventional content analysis of the interview data resulted in the emergence of two themes: Firstly, the involvement of significant others in the programme is important so that everyone is on the same page about pain and its management and secondly, the involvement of significant others in the programme is impor…
author: Swift, Catherine
keywords: Chronic pain, Pain management programme, Significant others, Involvement, Programme participants, Qualitative description
date published: 2012
date modified: 2026-07-27T18:46:23Z
provider: AUT University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: AUT University