Everyday life with chronic back pain: a qualitative study among Turkish immigrants in Denmark

Abstract

Background

Chronic back pain has a major physical and psycho-social impact. There have been few subjective assessments of everyday life in relation to migration and ethnicity. Through a descriptive and qualitative cross-cultural design, the aim was to develop an in-depth understanding of how Turkish immigrants experience living with back pain.

Methods

We conducted a qualitative study based on interviews with Turkish immigrants suffering from CBP recruited from a rheumatology outpatient clinic. The analysis was based on Giorgi’s phenomenological analysis.

Results

Eleven Turkish participants with chronic back pain (mean age 47.6) were recruited. Three essences resulted from the analysis: “Overwhelming and prevailing pain” – reflecting pain taking control of everyday life, “Being distressed in community life” – encompassing how pain causes changes in social roles, and “Looking for a way out of pain” – referring to feeling lost when being treated in the healthcare system, finding pain-management strategies and returning to Turkey for assistance.

Conclusion

Chronic back pain has a significant influence on daily life. Pain changes the feeling of identity relating to close relationships and in the Labor market. Most participants’ proficiency in Danish language skills posed a challenge for the existing treatment paradigm, in which information is crucial for successful rehabilitation.

IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION

• To improve access to both info on chronic back pain and its treatment, it is crucial that rehabilitation be offered in a range of languages.

• Proficiency in Danish varies greatly among immigrants, despite years of stay in Denmark. Engaging a professional interpreter early on in the rehabilitation program might improve patient compliance to the preferred treatment regimen.

• Including a peer-to-peer educational approach in parts of the rehabilitation program might be beneficial, as some immigrants remain skeptical towards the health care system in Denmark.

Keywords:

• Lived experience
• phenomenology
• ethnic groups
• social relations

Acknowledgements

We greatly thank the participants for sharing their time and personal experiences. In addition, thanks go to clinical nurse specialist Mie Lindy Andersen for her willingness to assist with recruitment of participants and to Professor Allan Krasnik for valuable input on migration issues.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark.