ISSUES AND INNOVATIONS IN NURSING PRACTICE Living with persistent pain: experiences of older people receiving home

Living with persistent pain: experiences of older people receiving home care Background. Although the topic of pain among older people has received increasing interest, little is still known about how pain is experienced or handled by those who no longer manage independently but depend on professionals for help with daily living. Developing pain management for older people requires such knowledge. Aim. To explore sense of self, sense of pain, daily living with pain, sense of others and ways of handling pain in older people with persistent pain. Methods. Interviews with 90 older people receiving home care from nursing aux-iliaries in their own homes or in sheltered accommodation were collected from January to June 2000. A typology of older people in persistent pain was developed. Activities for handling pain were examined using content analysis. Findings. Respondents ’ experiences of themselves and their pain varied. Two groups of older people, considered as ‘competent and proud ’ and ‘confident and serene’, expressed satisfaction in spite of pain, while the groups ‘misunderstood and disappointed ’ and ‘resigned and sad ’ expressed dissatisfaction. The most commo