Conceptualisations of pain amongst resettled Nepali-speaking Bhutanese adults in rural and regional Australia

Journal article


Nigol, Saari, Ó Donnchadha, Seán, Chikulin, Claudette, Orr, Catherine, Dhamala, Bhakti, Oldroyd, John and Eeman, Harry. (2024). Conceptualisations of pain amongst resettled Nepali-speaking Bhutanese adults in rural and regional Australia. Rural and Remote Health. 24(2), p. 8025. https://doi.org/10.22605/RRH8025
AuthorsNigol, Saari, Ó Donnchadha, Seán, Chikulin, Claudette, Orr, Catherine, Dhamala, Bhakti, Oldroyd, John and Eeman, Harry
Abstract

Introduction: Nepali-speaking Bhutanese refugees have been subject to one of the largest resettlement programs in the world and experience higher rates of chronic pain when compared to the general population. The purpose of this study was to explore qualitative conceptualisations of chronic pain among a group of Nepali-speaking Bhutanese adults with a refugee background who relocated to rural and regional Australia.

Methods: Participants included 22 individuals (females n=15) with chronic pain, who took part in structured qualitative focus groups exploring their experiences of chronic pain. Data were analysed using thematic analysis and five main themes were developed.

Results: The themes were: (1) pain is persistent and creates suffering, (2) pain is subjective and poorly understood, (3) pain is a biomedical problem that needs to be solved, (4) pain is complex and more than a biomedical problem, and (5) coping with pain is multi-faceted. Some participants viewed pain through a predominantly biomedical lens, and some recognised social and psychological factors as contributors to pain. Overwhelmingly, the participants believed pain is complex and multifaceted, requiring active and passive strategies for management, some of which are culturally informed.

Conclusion: The experiences of resettled Nepali-speaking Bhutanese refugees living with pain are important to elucidate to improve healthcare inequalities among this marginalised group. This research will inform future assessment guidelines and treatment programs for Nepali-speaking Bhutanese adults living with chronic pain.

KeywordsAustralia; chronic pain; focus groups; migrant health; Nepali-speaking Bhutanese; qualitative research; refugee health
Year01 Jan 2024
JournalRural and Remote Health
Journal citation24 (2), p. 8025
PublisherJames Cook University
ISSN1445-6354
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.22605/RRH8025
Web address (URL)https://www.rrh.org.au/journal/article/8025
Open accessOpen access
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range1-12
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online13 Jun 2024
Publication process dates
Accepted16 Jan 2024
Deposited20 Sep 2024
Additional information

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence

The study was funded by a Research Endowment Fund grant from St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne (REF 88231) awarded on 14 December 2018.

Place of publicationAustralia
Permalink -

https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/90yw2/conceptualisations-of-pain-amongst-resettled-nepali-speaking-bhutanese-adults-in-rural-and-regional-australia

Download files


Publisher's version
  • 2
    total views
  • 1
    total downloads
  • 0
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month
These values are for the period from 19th October 2020, when this repository was created.

Export as

Related outputs

Prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes and the relative importance of its risk factors among adults in Bangladesh : Findings from a nationwide survey
Islam, Rakibul M., Magliano, Dianna J., Khan, Md. Nuruzzaman, Hossain, Mohammad Bellal, Rana, Juwel and Oldroyd, John C.. (2022). Prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes and the relative importance of its risk factors among adults in Bangladesh : Findings from a nationwide survey. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice. 185, p. Article 109228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2022.109228
Awareness, treatment, and control of diabetes in Bangladesh : Evidence from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2017/18
Khan, Nuruzzaman, Oldroyd, John C., Hossain, Mohammad Bellal and Islam, Rakibul M.. (2022). Awareness, treatment, and control of diabetes in Bangladesh : Evidence from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2017/18. International Journal of Clinical Practice. 2022, p. Article 8349160. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/8349160
The experiences of children and adolescents undergoing forced separation from their parents during migration : A systematic review
Oldroyd, John C., Kabir, Ashraful, Dzakpasu, Francis Q. S., Mahmud, Hasan, Rana, Juwel and Islam, Rakibul. (2022). The experiences of children and adolescents undergoing forced separation from their parents during migration : A systematic review. Health and Social Care in the Community. 30(3), pp. 888-898. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13595
Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in Bangladesh : Findings from National Demographic and Health Survey, 2017–2018
Khan, Nuruzzaman, Oldroyd, John C., Chowdhury, Enayet K., Hossain, Mohammad Bellal, Rana, Juwel, Renzetti, Stefano and Islam, Rakibul M.. (2021). Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in Bangladesh : Findings from National Demographic and Health Survey, 2017–2018. Journal of Clinical Hypertension. 23(10), pp. 1830-1842. https://doi.org/10.1111/jch.14363
Prevalence of hypertension and controlled hypertension among United States adults : Evidence from NHANES 2017-18 survey
Rana, Juwel, Oldroyd, John, Islam, Md Momin, Tarazona-Meza, Carla E. and Islam, Rakibul M.. (2020). Prevalence of hypertension and controlled hypertension among United States adults : Evidence from NHANES 2017-18 survey. International Journal of Cardiology Hypertension. 7, p. Article 100061. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchy.2020.100061
Social determinants of health
Oldroyd, John. (2019). Social determinants of health. In Public health : Local and global perspectives pp. 105-123 Cambridge University Press.