Der Schmerz
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To evaluate the quality of care, particularly in the case of new forms of healthcare interventions, the healthcare services to be provided are defined and documented in advance. The presented explanatory sequential mixed methods design combines quantitative and qualitative data collection and the analysis enables a deeper understanding of a new healthcare intervention. Using the example of the POET-Pain project, which investigates the effect of a perioperative transitional pain service (TPS), the methodological application of the explanatory sequential mixed methods design is demonstrated in order to present the structural and process evaluation of the new healthcare intervention (in this case TPS) and to understand its influence on the quality of care. The mixed methods design presented enables the results of the quantitative phase to be interpreted and expanded in depth using qualitative data, which leads to a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter (second pillar of health services research).
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The importance of opioids in the treatment of non-cancer pain is under debate. No current data are available from Germany on the prevalence of opioid treatment for non-cancer pain. ⋯ Opioid therapy for non-cancer-related pain is predominantly carried out by general practitioners in older and multi-morbid patients. The indication for or against opioid therapy requires shared decision-making with patients and, if necessary, their relatives, as well as a review of possible drug interactions.
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Pain medicine is an interdisciplinary and interprofessional field of specialisation. Due to concerns about new recruits and an aging workforce, especially among physicians, it is important to better understand professional and career pathways in pain medicine. ⋯ The results emphasise the critical perspectives regarding the future provision of care for people with chronic pain. The results provide, for the first time, an insight into the career routes of staff in the field of pain medicine and their motivations and job satisfaction, which should be considered in the discussion about ensuring personnel resources in the future.
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This article deals with the interrelationship between body, mind and culture with respect to being healthy and being ill. If one wants to treat not only sickness but also sick people, it is helpful to be aware not only of the somatic and psychological dimensions of a disease but also of the "cultural" dimension of a disease. ⋯ Furthermore, it is shown that not only being sick but also the sick body can be understood in somatic, psychological and cultural dimensions and that a distinction must be made between the body as it physically is and as it is subjectively perceived. Finally, an insight into the complexity of the somatopsychic and psychosomatic interactions is provided in order to derivatively show how mental stress can lead to physical pain and physical pain can become a mental stressor.
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Multicenter Study
[Pain-related stigma in patients with breast, colon, prostate or lung cancer : Results of a bicentric register-based cross-sectional study].
Studies on cancer patients show a moderately high relevance of perceived stigmatization. However, no studies have explored the perceived stigmatization in relation to cancer-associated pain. In this work, we analysed the relationship between pain and perceived stigmatization across a large sample of four major cancer entities. ⋯ Our findings support the assumption that the experience of pain can have an impact on the perceived stigmatization of cancer patients. Depression might influence the perceived stigmatization. Therefore, this group of patients should receive special attention and psycho-oncological care in clinical practice. Further research on the course and mechanisms of action of pain-related perceived stigmatization is also required.