Self-reported pain among Cambodian Americans with depression: patient-provider communication as an overlooked social determinant
Plain English summary Pain is a common health problem among torture survivors and refugees. Clear communication about one’s pain supports timely and precise diagnosis and treatment. The relationship between communication with health providers and pain is understudied. We examined whether Cambodian A...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SpringerOpen
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41687-022-00504-4 |
| _version_ | 1798001384842330112 |
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| author | S. Megan Berthold Richard Feinn Angela Bermudez-Millan Thomas Buckley Orfeu M. Buxton Sengly Kong Theanvy Kuoch Mary Scully Tu Anh Ngo Julie Wagner |
| author_facet | S. Megan Berthold Richard Feinn Angela Bermudez-Millan Thomas Buckley Orfeu M. Buxton Sengly Kong Theanvy Kuoch Mary Scully Tu Anh Ngo Julie Wagner |
| author_sort | S. Megan Berthold |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plain English summary Pain is a common health problem among torture survivors and refugees. Clear communication about one’s pain supports timely and precise diagnosis and treatment. The relationship between communication with health providers and pain is understudied. We examined whether Cambodian American refugees’ reports of difficulty communicating with their health care provider was associated with their reports of pain. We analyzed data collected by Cambodian community health workers from a sample of 186 Cambodian American adults with depression who did not have diabetes. More than three quarters were female with an average age of 55 years and an average of almost seven years of education. About one-third had private insurance and two-thirds could not speak English conversationally. A little more than a third reported no pain at all. There were multiple factors associated with higher reported pain scores including: greater difficulty understanding healthcare provider, depressive symptoms, trauma symptoms, food insecurity, and social isolation. Those who reported lower pain scores had more education, higher income, spoke English more fluently, had more social support, were working, and had private insurance. When we analyzed the influence of all of these factors together, only difficulty understanding one’s healthcare provider and depressive symptoms predicted level of pain. Difficulty communicating with the healthcare provider is a factor that can be addressed with intervention to improve health and reduce pain. Healthcare institutions should be supported with necessary resources, such as trained community health workers, to secure patients’ rights to be able to communicate with their health providers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T11:35:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-12aa3600fead4d08a18f230c0efbbf3b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2509-8020 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T11:35:22Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes |
| spelling | doaj.art-12aa3600fead4d08a18f230c0efbbf3b2022-12-22T04:25:58ZengSpringerOpenJournal of Patient-Reported Outcomes2509-80202022-09-01611710.1186/s41687-022-00504-4Self-reported pain among Cambodian Americans with depression: patient-provider communication as an overlooked social determinantS. Megan Berthold0Richard Feinn1Angela Bermudez-Millan2Thomas Buckley3Orfeu M. Buxton4Sengly Kong5Theanvy Kuoch6Mary Scully7Tu Anh Ngo8Julie Wagner9University of Connecticut School of Social WorkDepartment of Medical Sciences, Frank H. Netter School of Medicine, Quinnipiac UniversityDepartment of Public Health Sciences, University of Connecticut School of MedicineDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, University of Connecticut School of PharmacyDepartment of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State UniversityKhmer Health AdvocatesKhmer Health AdvocatesKhmer Health AdvocatesEdith Nourse Rogers Memorial VAMCDivision of Behavioral Sciences and Community Health, University of Connecticut School of Dental MedicinePlain English summary Pain is a common health problem among torture survivors and refugees. Clear communication about one’s pain supports timely and precise diagnosis and treatment. The relationship between communication with health providers and pain is understudied. We examined whether Cambodian American refugees’ reports of difficulty communicating with their health care provider was associated with their reports of pain. We analyzed data collected by Cambodian community health workers from a sample of 186 Cambodian American adults with depression who did not have diabetes. More than three quarters were female with an average age of 55 years and an average of almost seven years of education. About one-third had private insurance and two-thirds could not speak English conversationally. A little more than a third reported no pain at all. There were multiple factors associated with higher reported pain scores including: greater difficulty understanding healthcare provider, depressive symptoms, trauma symptoms, food insecurity, and social isolation. Those who reported lower pain scores had more education, higher income, spoke English more fluently, had more social support, were working, and had private insurance. When we analyzed the influence of all of these factors together, only difficulty understanding one’s healthcare provider and depressive symptoms predicted level of pain. Difficulty communicating with the healthcare provider is a factor that can be addressed with intervention to improve health and reduce pain. Healthcare institutions should be supported with necessary resources, such as trained community health workers, to secure patients’ rights to be able to communicate with their health providers.https://doi.org/10.1186/s41687-022-00504-4 |
| spellingShingle | S. Megan Berthold Richard Feinn Angela Bermudez-Millan Thomas Buckley Orfeu M. Buxton Sengly Kong Theanvy Kuoch Mary Scully Tu Anh Ngo Julie Wagner Self-reported pain among Cambodian Americans with depression: patient-provider communication as an overlooked social determinant Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes |
| title | Self-reported pain among Cambodian Americans with depression: patient-provider communication as an overlooked social determinant |
| title_full | Self-reported pain among Cambodian Americans with depression: patient-provider communication as an overlooked social determinant |
| title_fullStr | Self-reported pain among Cambodian Americans with depression: patient-provider communication as an overlooked social determinant |
| title_full_unstemmed | Self-reported pain among Cambodian Americans with depression: patient-provider communication as an overlooked social determinant |
| title_short | Self-reported pain among Cambodian Americans with depression: patient-provider communication as an overlooked social determinant |
| title_sort | self reported pain among cambodian americans with depression patient provider communication as an overlooked social determinant |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41687-022-00504-4 |
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