Original articleSurvey of Pain Among Veterans in Western New York
Section snippets
Statement of the problem
Before extensive planning and implementation of costly services for pain treatment were undertaken by the Veterans Administration Western New York Healthcare System (VA WNY HS), a more specific description of the extent and kind(s) of pain that groups of Veterans were experiencing was needed so that services could be planned responsively. Some questions that arose were as follows: What percentage of a given group of Veterans served by the medical center was experiencing pain? Was the pain
Background
The International Association for the Study of Pain (1994) defined pain as the unpleasant sensory and emotional experience arising from actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage. It reduces quality of life and impairs functional status (Serlin, 1995). Pain crosses all ages, socioeconomic strata, and diagnostic categories; it is a concern in all health care settings. It is not a single dimension phenomenon. Pain can be a direct symptom of acute sources, such as a
Research questions
Five specific research questions were explored in this study to examine Veterans’ pain:
What percentage of Veterans in WNY are experiencing pain?
What are the characteristics of their pain?
How does pain impact on Veterans’ quality of life?
What kinds of treatment did WNY Veterans seek/receive for pain?
How do Veterans perceive the effectiveness of pain treatment they received?
Procedure
A written survey questionnaire was prepared to comprehensively assess the scope and nature of pain being experienced by Veterans in WNY, along with the kinds and satisfaction with pain treatment received by the target group. After institutional review board approval was obtained, a random sample was selected and survey questionnaires were mailed using the Dillman’s Total Design Method (Dillman, 1979). Each Veteran sampled was sent the questionnaire with a cover letter and return envelope, and a
Demographics
Questionnaires were returned from 114 people, for a 76% response rate. The average age of the respondents was 65 years old, with a range of 24 to 90 years. Almost all of the respondents were male (98%). Many of the Veterans were retired (47%); some were disabled (19%), employed (13%), or unemployed (4%). Most of the Veterans were married (48%), and fewer were widowed (18%), single (18%), or divorced (16%). One respondent was a World War I Veteran, 47 (41%) were World War II Veterans; 24 (21%)
Discussion and conclusion
The WNY VA Pain Survey provided an effective method to obtain information regarding the pain being experienced by a sample of Veterans registered in primary care in WNY. Random selection of the sample and high response rate allow generalizability to the WNY VA’s primary care population, yet small sample size imposes caution. The results of this survey indicated that pain was a widespread phenomenon among Veterans in WNY. Pain, as reflected in the survey, was typically moderate in intensity,
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This research was supported by the Veterans Administration Western New York Healthcare System, Health Services Research and Development Special Project.
The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs.