Daily life attitudes of women with moderate or severe chronic pelvic pain. A qualitative study

• Published in: European journal of obstetrics & gynecology and reproductive biology 2020-11, Vol.254, p.109-113
• Main Authors: Mellado, Bruna Helena, Pilger, Taynara Louisi, Poli Neto, Omero Benedicto, Rosa e Silva, Julio Cesar, Nogueira, Antonio Alberto, do Vale Brandão, Catarina, Candido dos Reis, Francisco Jose
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Aged; Attitude; Chronic Pain; Chronic pelvic pain; Coping; Female; Humans; Pelvic Pain; Qualitative Research; Thematic analysis; Women’s health
• ISSN: 0301-2115; 1872-7654
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2020.09.001

•Women with chronic pelvic pain have a spectrum of attitudes varying from submission to positive coping.•Submission to the pain impaired social and familiar relationships.•Positive coping was associated with the attempt to have a healthy life despite the pain.•Participants' age influenced the way they cope with the pain. How a woman copes with the pain might play a significant role in the management of chronic pelvic pain. This study aimed to understand the attitudes adopted by women with chronic pelvic pain (CPP) to deal with daily life problems caused by the illness. We conducted a qualitative study including 58 women diagnosed with chronic pelvic pain regardless of the cause. To collect the data, we used semi-structured interviews with the key question: "How do you handle the pain in your daily life?". The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. We conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of transcribed texts following the sequence: 1) initial reading; 2) preliminary identification of codes; 3) identification of themes; 4) review of themes; 5) nominating the themes in categories; 6) final study synthesis. The analysis was performed with the aid of the RQDA package in the R environment. Daily life attitudes varied from submission to the pain to positive coping. We identified five major categories: 1) shaping life by pain; 2) isolating from social contact; 3) avoiding sexual relationship; 4) seeking pain relief; 5) seeking positive strategies. Positive strategies were more frequent in older women. Women with chronic pelvic pain adopted a broad spectrum of attitudes to deal with the pain in daily life. The depth understanding of patient perspectives has the potential to improve the multidisciplinary care of this debilitating condition.