• L Klinger, S J Spaulding, H J Polatajko, J R MacKinnon, and L Miller.
• Rehabilitation Management Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada. lklinger@email.com
• Clin J Pain. 1999 Dec 1; 15 (4): 275-83.

ObjectiveTo determine whether elderly individuals with chronic pain as a result of osteoarthritis of the hip and/or knee would report adaptations to their activities, or occupational adaptations, as a coping response to pain and, if so, to describe these adaptations and their relation to chronic pain, functional difficulty, depression, social support, and life satisfaction.DesignThirty elderly individuals completed rating scales and a structured questionnaire designed to measure occupational adaptation and the importance of activity.SettingParticipants were community-dwelling elderly individuals and were interviewed in their homes or in a research office setting.PatientsConsecutive orthopedic surgeon, family physician, or Arthritis Society patients, whose names were provided with the patient's consent, to the researcher.ResultsIndividuals reported two approaches to occupational adaptation: they changed how they performed personal activities of daily living that they rated as most important and they stopped performing a number of avocational activities that they rated as less important. Statistically significant correlations were found among occupational adaptation, pain, depression, and difficulty with functioning. These variables were inversely related to life satisfaction.ConclusionsThis sample of elderly individuals with chronic pain described occupational adaptations, or adaptations to "doing," as a means of coping with their chronic pain. There appeared to be a relation among pain, functional difficulty, depression, social support, and occupational adaptation. Additional research to increase the understanding of occupational adaptation as a means of coping with chronic pain is warranted.

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