Medical help-seeking by different types of chronic pain patients

Quality of life in chronic pain is more associated with beliefs about pain, than with pain intensity

“…Notable results were found for all quality of life domains. The chronic pain patient from the multi‐disciplinary university pain clinic scored significant lower on all domains than each of the other Dutch reference groups, including a heterogeneous sample of cancer patients with metastases and a heterogeneous chronic pain population presenting themselves to the general practitioner (Aaronson et al, 1998; Verhaak et al, 2000). When the different pain clusters are taken into account, particularly patients with low back pain and multiple pain localisations have lower scores.…”

“…The population with cancer pain ( N =485, 57.3 years (SD 12.1) {22–86}, 58% women) was a heterogeneous sample of cancer patients, primarily with breast, colorectal or lung cancer, recruited from the outpatient clinics of the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, a cancer treatment centre located in Amsterdam (Aaronson et al, 1998). Another Dutch investigation, using the Dutch version of the SF‐36, (not shown in the figure) concerned a chronic pain population presenting themselves to the general practitioner ( N =305, 48.6 years (SD 12.7) {19–87}, 71.5% women) (Verhaak et al, 2000). The authors presented only mean domain scores of physical functioning, role limitations physical, mental health and vitality.…”

“… Migraine/cancer: Aaronson et al (1998); chronic pain group: Verhaak et al (2000) and a healthy Dutch sample: Van der Zee et al (1996). …”

Crisis decision theory: Decisions in the face of negative events.

“…Evidence has suggested that people who assess the negative event as severe are more willing to suffer greater costs and risk greater negative consequences in hopes of coping successfully with the event (Lazarus & Folkman, 1987). For example, studies of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, premenstrual symptoms, posttraumatic stress disorder, and chronic pain have found that patients with more severe symptoms are more likely to actively seek medical attention (Calhoun, Bosworth, Grambow, Dudley, & Beckham, 2002; Mayerovitch et al, 2003; Robinson & Swindle, 2000; Verhaak et al, 2000). Thus, the perceived severity of an event, along with the specific appraisals that contribute to perceptions of severity, plays an important role in predicting the types of responses people choose.…”

Temperament, Beliefs About Pain Control, and Pain Intensity in Endometriosis Patients

“…Women who experience more intense pain may require consultation with a doctor and pain medication (McCrea, Wright, & Stringer, 2000). Frequency of use of health services may depend on the severity of the pain (Verhaak et al, 2000). …”