ANS. Advances in nursing science
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Chronic pain is a worldwide problem with significant physical, psychological, and social impacts. Despite its prevalence and cost, the phenomenon is not well understood. ⋯ A random sample of nursing, psychology, and neurophysiology literature published over a 30-year period (1969 through 1999) was used to generate a consensual definition of chronic pain. The transition in the attributes, antecedents, consequences, related concepts, and surrogate terms of chronic pain is described, and the implications of the findings for practice and research are discussed.
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Case Reports
Transcendence and transformation in the life patterns of women living with rheumatoid arthritis.
Considering personal life stories as the context for health transitions can enhance understanding of what is meaningful in living with chronic illness. Informed by Margaret Newman's theory of Health as Expanding Consciousness, this interpretive study described the life patterns of three women with rheumatoid arthritis as a process of expanding consciousness. The women's stories revealed transcendence of self-boundaries and personal transformation as new ways of living, including "simple pleasures" and "being positive." Through understanding life patterns within caring nursing partnerships, transitions in an entire life story can be appreciated as complex processes involving transcendence and transformation.