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Oosterhaven J1,2, Wittink H3, Schröder C4, Popma H5, Spierenburg L1, Pell C2, Deville W2,6
1University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, Researchgroup Lifestyle and Health, Utrecht, Netherlands, 2University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Institute of Social Science Research, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 3University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands, 4Center of Excellence for Rehabilitation Medicine Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands, 5Rehabilitation Centre Heliomare, Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, 6Julius Centre for health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
Background: Current health policies have repeatedly called for health services to include strategies for managing health literacy. Patients´ health literacy is increasingly recognized as a
critical factor affecting health communication and - outcomes. Despite this, health literacy continues to be a neglected topic in interdisciplinary pain management programmes. This is remarkable since these programmes focus on changing patients' cognitions and behaviour in order to encourage self-management in patients with chronic pain.
Purpose: The main aim of this research was to explore how patients with chronic pain apply their health literacy skills and how they develop across an interdisciplinary pain management programme.
Methods: A longitudinal qualitative research study was performed based on the grounded theory
approach. Three sets of individually semi structured interviews (waiting list, after 4 weeks rehabilitation programme, end of programme) that were conducted with patients with chronic pain from two rehabilitation centres in the Netherlands. A purposive sampling strategy was used to ensure that patients with chronic pain, from two rehabilitation centres, with different levels of health literacy and with a spread in gender, age and education level were selected. Written informed consent was obtained before enrolment. A directed content analysis was performed. The transcribed interviews were analysed with the Health Literacy concept as analytic framework.
Results: A total of eighteen patients diagnosed with chronic pain were interviewed, 3 males and 15 females, with an age range from 21 to 77 years and different levels of health literacy. With the data it was shown how patients with chronic pain Accessed, Understood, Appraised and Applied the shared knowledge and skills learned and how they developed their health literacy skills across an interdisciplinary pain management programme.
Conclusion(s): This longitudinal qualitative study provides deeper understanding how patients with chronic pain apply their health literacy skills. The findings highlight common barriers faced by patients with regard to health literacy in interdisciplinary pain management programmes.
Implications: Health care providers should be sensitive to the health literacy skills of patients with chronic pain in order to be able to provide tailored interdisciplinary pain management programmes.
Keywords: Health Literacy Skills, Interdisciplinary Pain Management Programme, Longitudinal Qualitative Study
Funding acknowledgements: This study is supported by grants of the Dutch government- NWO- 023.004.121 and SIA Raak 2012-14-12P
critical factor affecting health communication and - outcomes. Despite this, health literacy continues to be a neglected topic in interdisciplinary pain management programmes. This is remarkable since these programmes focus on changing patients' cognitions and behaviour in order to encourage self-management in patients with chronic pain.
Purpose: The main aim of this research was to explore how patients with chronic pain apply their health literacy skills and how they develop across an interdisciplinary pain management programme.
Methods: A longitudinal qualitative research study was performed based on the grounded theory
approach. Three sets of individually semi structured interviews (waiting list, after 4 weeks rehabilitation programme, end of programme) that were conducted with patients with chronic pain from two rehabilitation centres in the Netherlands. A purposive sampling strategy was used to ensure that patients with chronic pain, from two rehabilitation centres, with different levels of health literacy and with a spread in gender, age and education level were selected. Written informed consent was obtained before enrolment. A directed content analysis was performed. The transcribed interviews were analysed with the Health Literacy concept as analytic framework.
Results: A total of eighteen patients diagnosed with chronic pain were interviewed, 3 males and 15 females, with an age range from 21 to 77 years and different levels of health literacy. With the data it was shown how patients with chronic pain Accessed, Understood, Appraised and Applied the shared knowledge and skills learned and how they developed their health literacy skills across an interdisciplinary pain management programme.
Conclusion(s): This longitudinal qualitative study provides deeper understanding how patients with chronic pain apply their health literacy skills. The findings highlight common barriers faced by patients with regard to health literacy in interdisciplinary pain management programmes.
Implications: Health care providers should be sensitive to the health literacy skills of patients with chronic pain in order to be able to provide tailored interdisciplinary pain management programmes.
Keywords: Health Literacy Skills, Interdisciplinary Pain Management Programme, Longitudinal Qualitative Study
Funding acknowledgements: This study is supported by grants of the Dutch government- NWO- 023.004.121 and SIA Raak 2012-14-12P
Topic: Pain & pain management
Ethics approval required: No
Institution: Medical Ethics Committee of the Academic Medical Centre of Amsterdam
Ethics committee: Medical Ethics Committee of the Academic Medical Centre of Amsterdam
Reason not required: The study was registered with the Medical Ethics Committee of the Academic Medical Centre of Amsterdam which declared that is does not fall under the scope of the ‘Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act’ and all patients provided written informed consent.
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
