Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Observational Study
The Effect of Initiatives to Overcome Language Barriers and Improve Attendance: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Adherence in an Inner City Chronic Pain Clinic.
Language barriers can prevent pain physicians and patients from forming meaningful rapport and drive health care disparities. Non-adherence with scheduled pain clinic appointments deprives patients with chronic pain of needed specialist care. ⋯ The results of this retrospective cross-sectional analysis of patients’ adherence with scheduled appointments in an inner-city chronic pain clinic suggests that targeted initiatives including a pre-clinic reminder phone call in the patient’s own language may help to overcome language barriers and improve access to care.
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Pain and depressive disorders often present together, but little is known about the prevalence of pain in depression subgroups. The objective of this study was to examine the possible differences in the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain between participants in melancholic and atypical depression subgroups. ⋯ Melancholic depression showed to be associated with a higher prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in comparison with atypical depression. This finding highlights the need for further studies about the mechanisms behind the association, particularly in melancholic depression.
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Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) pain originating from the posterior ligament manifests in not only the buttocks but also the groin and lower extremities and thus may be difficult to discern from pain secondary to other lumbar disorders. We aimed to develop a simple clinical diagnostic tool to help physicians distinguish between patients with SIJ pain originating from the posterior ligament and those with lumbar disc herniation (LDH) or lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSS). ⋯ The scoring system can help distinguish between patients with SIJ pain originating from the posterior ligament and those with LDH and LSS.
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The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for older adults with chronic pain. Secondarily, we examined the associations between changes on processes of psychological flexibility and treatment outcome variables. ⋯ This study supports the potential effectiveness of ACT for chronic pain among older adults. Future research is needed to determine how to maximize the impact of this treatment, particularly through greater impact on psychological flexibility.
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Centrality of pain refers to the degree to which a patient views chronic pain as integral to his or her life or identity. The purpose of this study was to gain a richer understanding of pain centrality from the perspective of patients who live with chronic pain. ⋯ This study highlights centrality of pain as an important construct to consider within the overall patient experience of chronic pain.