IS ANYBODY LISTENING? A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF PAIN IN HOSPITALIZED PERSONS WITH AIDS (IMMUNE DEFICIENCY).
Contributors: New York University.
Published: 1996
Number of pages: 198
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Psychology, Physiological.; Health Sciences, Health Care Management.
Description: Background and purpose. Although pain occurs in up to 97% of persons with AIDS (PWAs) (Singh, Fermie, & Peters, 1992), few researchers have studied this phenomenon. AIDS is a chronic, progressive, complex, and fatal illness. The intent of this study was to increase our understanding of the experience of pain in hospitalized PWAs, to improve both the quality of life and quality of care of PWAs.

Method. Tenets of van Manen (1991) guided this phenomenological approach. Data were gathered from audiotaped, open-ended interviews with eleven hospitalized PWAs, as well as from film, first-person accounts, and clinical experience. The sample was varied, consisting of three women and eight men. Eight of the eleven were chemically dependent, seven were white, two were black, and two latino.

Findings. Five essential themes were identified: knowing pain, battling pain, pain's influence, and having AIDS. The fifth theme was found only among participants who were chemically dependent: being a drug user. The first theme conveyed the idea that pain is known in the body and is difficult to talk about. The second theme represented the struggle for pain relief and the role that nurses, physicians, friends, and family play in this battle; sometimes as allies and other times as enemies. The third theme illustrated the profound affect of pain on one's life, how it touched every aspect, physical, emotional, spiritual, and cognitive. The fourth theme portrayed the context in which the pain occurred, that of having AIDS, and how this had an impact on the pain experience. For the chemically dependent, additional challenges existed, including struggling with recovery and facing biases.

Significance. These findings increase our knowledge of what it is like to be a hospitalized PWA in pain. They indicate the importance of listening to and believing reports of pain. Multiple barriers to effective pain management were identified. Further research is needed to more fully understand the experience of pain in chemically dependent PWAs, especially around issues of relapse.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-03, Section: B, page: 1713.

Thesis (PH.D.)--NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, 1996.

School code: 0146.