Symptoms without disease: Exploring experiences of non-Western immigrant women living with chronic pain

Nyen, Siri; Tveit, Bodil

doi:10.1080/07399332.2017.1370470

Cited by 8 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Before the programme started, the participants reported that their lives were in crisis and chaos, and that they were mostly isolated from the rest of the society. These results are in accordance with previous research [12,14,15,28,29], in which female immigrant pain patients reported loss of their identities and social network. They developed emotional distress, were depressed, and lost their ability to carry out the daily activities that they were used to performing.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…The participants pointed out that when they lived in Somalia, they had a job, a house, a family, a social network, fresh food on the table, good weather, and most importantly, good health and no signs of depression. These topics are in accordance with those already documented in the literature [12,29], where immigrants reported having good health, no signs of depression, and no feelings of loneliness before moving to the host country.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Constant or frequent searches for help and health care before the MMR programme was a topic raised by the participants in our study. Other studies also describe this behaviour [14,15,28,29,31].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…Similar to other studies, the immigrant women felt isolated and missed the social interaction from their host country [14,29]. As our MMR group was adapted so that participants shared a similar language, background and culture, they had the opportunity to express themselves and share their own experiences with the group.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…The participants in our study experienced their health as poor before the MMR programme. Many immigrants experience their health as poor or very poor when they come to a host country, and report physical disabilities due to pain which includes persistent suffering, fatigue, limited endurance [12,13,[28][29][30] and mental ill-health [14,15]. This often led to healthcare visits.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A qualitative study among women immigrants from Somalia – experiences from primary health care multimodal pain rehabilitation in Sweden

Semedo

Stenberg

2019

European Journal of Physiotherapy

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Background: Immigrants often experience difficulties with acculturation and post migratory stress after arrival in a host country and studies report poor health, chronic pain and depression. This is a challenge for primary health care and interventions need to be evaluated. Objectives: To explore the experiences of a group of women from Somalia who took part in a multimodal pain rehabilitation programme in primary healthcare in Northern Sweden. Methods: Seven individual interviews a few months after participation, and a focus group discussion one year after the programme were conducted and analysed with Grounded theory. Results: A core category regained life emerged from the data. This was described as a process in two categories: panic and connection. The participants experienced that the programme was helpful and that the pain was reduced. They became more open-minded; got new ideas and knowledge; were helped to improve their societal adaptation and integration; experienced that they were not alone; and learned that there is benefits when a group of people share experiences and feelings. Conclusions: Multimodal pain rehabilitation can be helpful for women immigrants from Somalia. The programme triggered positive changes in their lives and they received knowledge about how to manage pain and improved their self-confidence and health.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

A qualitative study among women immigrants from Somalia – experiences from primary health care multimodal pain rehabilitation in Sweden

Semedo

Stenberg

2019

European Journal of Physiotherapy

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Pain drawings, interpreter support and clinical findings among immigrant patients on sick leave in Swedish primary health care

Löfvander

2019

Prim Health Care Res Dev

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Aim: To evaluate the spread of pain and its correlates among immigrant patients on sick leave. Background: Backache, outspread pain and sick-leave questions are problematic to handle primary health care, especially in multicultural settings. Methods: Two hundred and thirty-five patients 20–45 years on paid sick leave (59% women, 93% foreign-born, mostly non-Europeans). Many had little formal education. One-third had professional interpreter support. The patients pointed out on their bodies where they felt pain. This information was transferred on a pain drawing [pain drawing fields (PDFs) 0–18] by a doctor. Major depression and psychosocial stressors were assessed using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Nociceptive locations for pain were established (pain-sites 0–18). Dependent variable was the number of PDFs. Independent variables were social data, sick leave, interpreter, depression, stress levels and number of pain sites. Calculations were done using descriptive methods and multi-variable linear regression in full models, by gender. Findings: Many patients had depression (51% women versus 32% men). A majority were exposed to psychosocial stressors. Women had more PDFs, in median 5 [inter-quartile ranges (IQR) 4–8] versus men 3 (IQR 2–5), and also more pain sites, in median 3 (IQR 2–5) versus men in median 2 (IQR 1–3). For men, the regression calculations revealed that numbers of PDFs associated only with increasing numbers of pain sites (B 0.871 P < 0.001). For women, this association was weaker (B 0.364, P < 0.001), with significant values also for age (B 0.103) and sick leave > one year (B 0.767, P = 0.010), and a negative predicting value for interpreter support (B −1.198, P < 0.043). To conclude, PDFs associated often with somatic findings but varied much among the women. This implies potential problems regarding cause, function and sick leave questions. However, support by professional interpreters may facilitate a shared understanding with immigrant women having long-standing pain.

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‘They said I wasn’t sick enough’: pain as negotiation in workfare

Wathne

2021

Nordic Social Work Research

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Women with migration experience from non-European countries living in Norway question the degree to which workfare is beneficial to their participation in working life. Welfare-workers regard 'immigrant women' as a particularly difficult group to assist with their transition into employment. Based on ethnographic observation of more than fifty meetings, interviews, and other qualitative sources, this paper explores one specific reason why these processes seldom succeed. Diffuse pain dominates the lives of many women, a situation not fully understood nor accommodated medically, socially or in terms of welfare rights. The welfare system fails, by and large, to offer solutions that address real-life challenges. A better understanding of pain in its communicative aspect is necessary to promote the participation of women -and particularly those with migration experience -in workfare. The paper's point of departure is a pivotal moment in the jobseeker Amina's workfare process. A case study is developed to show how pain can make women feel obliged to act according to a certain 'script' to be able to negotiate welfare outcomes. Pain is a major hindrance to working life and it is important to understand more about this in the welfare context.

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Symptoms without disease: Exploring experiences of non-Western immigrant women living with chronic pain

Cited by 8 publications

References 36 publications

A qualitative study among women immigrants from Somalia – experiences from primary health care multimodal pain rehabilitation in Sweden

A qualitative study among women immigrants from Somalia – experiences from primary health care multimodal pain rehabilitation in Sweden

Pain drawings, interpreter support and clinical findings among immigrant patients on sick leave in Swedish primary health care

‘They said I wasn’t sick enough’: pain as negotiation in workfare

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