Self-treatment of pain in a rural area.
BACKGROUND
In the United States, 42% of adults say they experience pain daily, the majority often relying on self-treatment. In addition, an increasing number of people are seeking complementary/alternative therapies, often without informing their health care providers.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the occurrence of pain and the modalities of self-treatment used by community members (N = 108) from a rural area of Michigan, the potential for interactions between pain self-treatment modalities and other medications currently being taken, and demographic variables that might affect self-treatment choice.


METHODS
This exploratory descriptive study was conducted using a survey method.


RESULTS
Findings revealed that 66% were taking prescription medications, 75% over-the-counter medications, 20% herbal supplements, and 35% nonpharmacological treatments. Of the reported prescription and over-the-counter medications, 18% were opioids, 77% were nonopioids, and 18% were adjuvant medications. One-third of the subjects were taking more than 1 medication and/or herbal product or supplement, increasing their risk for potential drug-herb interactions, complicated by the fact that 20% did not inform their primary care practitioner of their self-treatment choices.


CONCLUSIONS
This study contributes to the knowledge of current self-treatment choices regarding pain management and potentially harmful interactions that might occur from using multiple medications and supplements.
Vallerand
April Hazard
AH
Wayne State University, College of Nursing, 5557 Cass Avenue, Cohn Bldg. #364, Detroit, MI 48202, USA. April.Vallerand@wayne.edu
Fouladbakhsh
Judith M
JM
Templin
Thomas
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000698:Analgesia / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology; D059408:Pain Management; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012648:Self Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors