Picturing oneself over time: a multi-modal interpretative phenomenological analysis of pain management trajectories

Nizza, Isabella and Smith, Jonathan and Kirkham, Jamie (2023) Picturing oneself over time: a multi-modal interpretative phenomenological analysis of pain management trajectories. European Journal of Pain , ISSN 1090-3801.

Abstract

Background: Chronic pain can be a disabling condition with impacts that affect the sense of identity of those who live with it. This article idiographically describes the longitudinal evolution of the sense of self of participants following their referral to a pain management service and participation in a pain management program (PMP). Methods: Participants were interviewed three times: before they attended a PMP, and one and six months after the PMP. Data included the drawings of themselves that participants created at each interview and the transcripts of the interviews guided by the drawings, analysed longitudinally using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: This paper describes in detail the cases of four participants: two who experienced a positive albeit troubled trajectory following their PMP and two who did not experience any positive change. The results provide a nuanced account of how the impacts of chronic pain on identity can evolve, with different people engaging with different aspects of a PMP and some people not engaging at all, and how pain self-management strategies enable those that do engage to cope in times of difficulty. Conclusions: Participant responses to PMP participation are idiosyncratic and interviews with drawings of self analysed longitudinally can help illustrate processes of change.

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