Nida Mustafa, Shreeyaa Ramana, Margaret MacNeill, Judy Watt-Watson, Gillian Einstein
{"title":"Chronic pain experiences of immigrant Indian women in Canada: A photovoice exploration.","authors":"Nida Mustafa, Shreeyaa Ramana, Margaret MacNeill, Judy Watt-Watson, Gillian Einstein","doi":"10.1080/24740527.2024.2390355","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Over the past two decades, the prevalence of chronic pain has significantly increased globally, with approximately 20% of the world's population living with pain. Although quantitative measures are useful in identifying pain prevalence and severity, qualitative methods, and especially arts-based ones, are now receiving attention as a valuable means to understand lived experiences of pain. Photovoice is one such method that utilizes individuals' own photography to document their lived experiences.</p><p><strong>Aims: </strong>The current study utilized an arts-based method to explore immigrant Indian women's chronic pain experiences in Canada and aimed to enhance the understanding of those experiences by creating a visual opportunity for them to share their stories.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Twelve immigrant Indian women captured photographs and participated in one-on-one interviews exploring daily experiences of chronic pain.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Women's photographs, and description of these photographs, provided a visual entry into their lives and pain experiences. Three themes emerged from our analysis: (1) bodies in pain, (2) traversing spaces including immigration, and (3) pain management methods. Findings revealed that women's representations of pain were shaped by a clash between culturally shaped gender role expectations and changing gender norms due to immigration processes. The use of photovoice visually contextualized and represented pain experiences, proving to be a valuable tool for self-reflection.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This research uncovers the multifaceted nature of chronic pain and identifies the influence of immigration, gender, and social relations on the exacerbation of pain in immigrant Indian women.</p>","PeriodicalId":53214,"journal":{"name":"Canadian Journal of Pain-Revue Canadienne de la Douleur","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11459737/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Canadian Journal of Pain-Revue Canadienne de la Douleur","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24740527.2024.2390355","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"CLINICAL NEUROLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Over the past two decades, the prevalence of chronic pain has significantly increased globally, with approximately 20% of the world's population living with pain. Although quantitative measures are useful in identifying pain prevalence and severity, qualitative methods, and especially arts-based ones, are now receiving attention as a valuable means to understand lived experiences of pain. Photovoice is one such method that utilizes individuals' own photography to document their lived experiences.
Aims: The current study utilized an arts-based method to explore immigrant Indian women's chronic pain experiences in Canada and aimed to enhance the understanding of those experiences by creating a visual opportunity for them to share their stories.
Methods: Twelve immigrant Indian women captured photographs and participated in one-on-one interviews exploring daily experiences of chronic pain.
Results: Women's photographs, and description of these photographs, provided a visual entry into their lives and pain experiences. Three themes emerged from our analysis: (1) bodies in pain, (2) traversing spaces including immigration, and (3) pain management methods. Findings revealed that women's representations of pain were shaped by a clash between culturally shaped gender role expectations and changing gender norms due to immigration processes. The use of photovoice visually contextualized and represented pain experiences, proving to be a valuable tool for self-reflection.
Conclusions: This research uncovers the multifaceted nature of chronic pain and identifies the influence of immigration, gender, and social relations on the exacerbation of pain in immigrant Indian women.