Explore life experiences of over 65s living with both pain and frailty
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A qualitative study to explore the life experiences of patients over 65 who are now living with both pain and frailty.
IRAS ID
265574
Contact name
Michelle Briggs
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
G64169, Explore Patient experiences of living with pain and frailty
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 3 months, 0 days
Research summary
The prevalence of chronic pain like frailty increases with age. Advancing age brings with it an increased risk of developing health problems. Recent research has suggested a link between pain and frailty in later life. If substantiated, this could have implications for the treatment and management of both pain and frailty in the future. As a result, Health Professionals have developed an interest in the relationship between pain and frailty and the impact these have on the individual. Therefore this research:-
Aims:
•To explore the sequence of events in the context of the patients’ life journey that led to the development of both pain and frailty.
•To gain a deeper understanding of the interplay between these two problems and the impact on daily life from a patient perspective.Objectives:
•To gain a deeper understanding of how living with pain and frailty, holistically impacts on the lives of older people.
•To ascertain the common antecedent from patient experience within this group.
•To gain a deeper understanding of the risk factors associated with pain and frailty through patient experience.
• From a patient perspective identify what future management strategies may be acceptable to patients with the aim of improving future clinical outcomes.Process: This study will be of qualitative design. It will use a life history calendar in conjunction with a semi-structured interview to qualitatively explore the life experiences of patients over 65 who are living with pain and frailty.
Conclusion: This study will be the first to deepen our understanding of the lived experience of pain and frailty from a patient perspective. It will also deepen our knowledge in relation to what patients perceive to be risk factors related to both pain and frailty. This will inform future clinical practice and make recommendations on holistic management that will ultimately improve patient outcomes.
Lay summary of study results: For 11 of the 12 participants pain occured before frailty. Participants had also experienced falls, chronic pain had increased their falls risk. 9 out of the 12 participants had experienced adverse events in childhood. Living with chronic pain and frailty resulted in unpredictability and an inability to plan from one day to the next as they did not know how they would feel day to day. Participants were quite positive in mindset and looked to find solutions to problems themselves rather than seeking professional support. Professional support was sought when participants could no longer maintain their independence. Participants were both stoic and resilient, they did not see themselves as frail. They feared the need for a care home and fought against this at all costs.
REC name
London - City & East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1994
Date of REC Opinion
28 Jan 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion