BACKGROUND: Beliefs and mental well-being could influence decisions to consult about upper limb pain and satisfaction with care. OBJECTIVES: To describe beliefs about upper limb pain in the community and explore associations of beliefs and mental health with consulting and dissatisfaction. METHODS: Questionnaires were mailed to 4998 randomly chosen working-aged patients from general practices in Avon. We asked about upper limb pain, consulting, beliefs about symptoms, dissatisfaction with care, somatizing tendency (using elements of the Brief Symptom Inventory) and mental well-being (using the Short-Form 36). Associations were explored by logistic regression. RESULTS: Among 2632 responders, 1271 reported arm pain during the past 12 months, including 389 consulters. A third or more of responders felt that arm pain sufferers should avoid physical activity, that problems would persist beyond 3 months, that a doctor should be seen straightaway and that neglect could lead to permanent harm. Consulters were significantly more likely to agree with these statements than other upper limb pain sufferers. The proportion of consultations attributable to such beliefs was substantial. Dissatisfaction with care was commoner in those with poor mental health: the OR for being dissatisfied (worst versus best third of the distribution) was 3.2 (95% CI 1.2-8.5) for somatizing tendency and 2.4 (95% CI 1.3-4.7) for SF-36 score. Both factors were associated with dissatisfaction about doctors' sympathy, communication and care in examining. CONCLUSIONS: Negative beliefs about upper limb pain are common and associated with consulting. Somatizers and those in poorer mental health tend, subsequently, to feel dissatisfied with care.
BACKGROUND: Beliefs and mental well-being could influence decisions to consult about upper limb pain and satisfaction with care. OBJECTIVES: To describe beliefs about upper limb pain in the community and explore associations of beliefs and mental health with consulting and dissatisfaction. METHODS: Questionnaires were mailed to 4998 randomly chosen working-aged patients from general practices in Avon. We asked about upper limb pain, consulting, beliefs about symptoms, dissatisfaction with care, somatizing tendency (using elements of the Brief Symptom Inventory) and mental well-being (using the Short-Form 36). Associations were explored by logistic regression. RESULTS: Among 2632 responders, 1271 reported arm pain during the past 12 months, including 389 consulters. A third or more of responders felt that arm pain sufferers should avoid physical activity, that problems would persist beyond 3 months, that a doctor should be seen straightaway and that neglect could lead to permanent harm. Consulters were significantly more likely to agree with these statements than other upper limb pain sufferers. The proportion of consultations attributable to such beliefs was substantial. Dissatisfaction with care was commoner in those with poor mental health: the OR for being dissatisfied (worst versus best third of the distribution) was 3.2 (95% CI 1.2-8.5) for somatizing tendency and 2.4 (95% CI 1.3-4.7) for SF-36 score. Both factors were associated with dissatisfaction about doctors' sympathy, communication and care in examining. CONCLUSIONS: Negative beliefs about upper limb pain are common and associated with consulting. Somatizers and those in poorer mental health tend, subsequently, to feel dissatisfied with care.
Authors: Keith T Palmer; Michael Griffin; Georgia Ntani; James Shambrook; Philip McNee; Madeleine Sampson; E Clare Harris; David Coggon Journal: Scand J Work Environ Health Date: 2012-01-16 Impact factor: 5.024
Authors: Gareth T Jones; Kathrin Mertens; Gary J Macfarlane; Keith T Palmer; David Coggon; Karen Walker-Bone; Kim Burton; Peter J Heine; Candy McCabe; Paul McNamee; Alex McConnachie Journal: BMC Musculoskelet Disord Date: 2014-03-10 Impact factor: 2.362
Authors: Gareth T Jones; Gary J Macfarlane; Karen Walker-Bone; Kim Burton; Peter Heine; Candida McCabe; Paul McNamee; Alex McConnachie; Rachel Zhang; Daniel Whibley; Keith Palmer; David Coggon Journal: RMD Open Date: 2019-03-04
Authors: Keith T Palmer; Clare E Harris; E Claire Harris; Michael J Griffin; James Bennett; Isabel Reading; Madelaine Sampson; David Coggon Journal: Scand J Work Environ Health Date: 2008-10-14 Impact factor: 5.024
Authors: Sergio Vargas-Prada; David Coggon; Georgia Ntani; Karen Walker-Bone; Keith T Palmer; Vanda E Felli; Raul Harari; Lope H Barrero; Sarah A Felknor; David Gimeno; Anna Cattrell; Matteo Bonzini; Eleni Solidaki; Eda Merisalu; Rima R Habib; Farideh Sadeghian; M Masood Kadir; Sudath S P Warnakulasuriya; Ko Matsudaira; Busisiwe Nyantumbu; Malcolm R Sim; Helen Harcombe; Ken Cox; Leila M M Sarquis; Maria H Marziale; Florencia Harari; Rocio Freire; Natalia Harari; Magda V Monroy; Leonardo A Quintana; Marianela Rojas; E Clare Harris; Consol Serra; J Miguel Martinez; George Delclos; Fernando G Benavides; Michele Carugno; Marco M Ferrario; Angela C Pesatori; Leda Chatzi; Panos Bitsios; Manolis Kogevinas; Kristel Oha; Tiina Freimann; Ali Sadeghian; Roshini J Peiris-John; Nalini Sathiakumar; A Rajitha Wickremasinghe; Noriko Yoshimura; Helen L Kelsall; Victor C W Hoe; Donna M Urquhart; Sarah Derrett; David McBride; Peter Herbison; Andrew Gray; Eduardo J Salazar Vega Journal: PLoS One Date: 2016-04-29 Impact factor: 3.240