title: Health experiences and employment status in subjects with chronic back pain: a long-term perspective.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to describe health experiences, focused on gender and return to work, in subjects with chronic low back pain in a long-term perspective. The convenient sample consisted of 12 subjects who had attended a pain rehabilitation program 6 years earlier. Typed interviews were transcribed, and a content analysis approach was used. Five categories were found: coping, root causes, control/influence, pain, and sleep. The interviews showed that the subjects expressed well-being, although pain had become part of their daily life. However, both gender and well-being group differences were identified. The women and the group with reduced well-being used the root causes category in a higher degree than the men and the well-being group did. The conclusion is that there are differences according to both gender and return to work within the subjects with chronic pain and that these differences are related to both root causes and coping pattern.
authors.affiliation: Department of Welfare and Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköpings Universitetet, SE-601 74 Norrköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ragnhild
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raak
authors.forename: Lis Karin
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Wahren
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015984:Causality; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008297:Male; D008571:Men / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D016272:Occupational Health; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011788:Quality of Life; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D012737:Sex Factors; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014931:Women, Working / Q000523:psychology