Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


case1055787688.pdf (3.91 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Human patterning and chronic pain

Rapacz, Katherine Emily
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1055787688

Abstract Details

1991, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Nursing.
Chronic pain is a disabling health problem which affects 75-80 million Americans. Pain is one of the most common concerns demanding nursing attention and action among patients. Current success in the management and/or alleviation of chronic pain ranges from 50-85%. Rogers' science of unitary human beings served as the theoretical basis for the study to offer a new perspective on chronic pain. The study was descriptive and exploratory. Its purpose was to test the notion of unitary field patterning as the basic unit of observation for studying holistic human beings. The research questions asked if there were differences in pattern manifestations between a group with chronic pain and a group without chronic pain. The chronic pain group consisted of individuals seeking treatment for chronic pain from a pain management program or individual health care practitioners in the San Francisco, Phoenix, and Cleveland areas (N = 113). A comparison group matched on age, sex, race and residence was recruited from community groups and public gathering places (N = 113). The sample was predominantly female (61%), white (96.5%) and age 19-49 (80%). Pain characteristics of interest included severity, frequency, duration, and event of onset. Pain related variables included occupati on, medication use, compensation and litigation. The main variables of interest were pattern manifestation measures developed within Rogers' abstract system. Pattern measures included Ference's Human Field Motion (HFM) test (alpha =.94) and Barrett's Power as Knowing Participation in Change (PKPC) test (alpha =.94). Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed significant differences between groups on pattern manifestation measures (p <.001). Age, sex, race, and place of residence were controlled through the matching procedure. MANOVA revealed group membership to be the only variable significantly related to patterning differences. The findings of this study support the notion of pattern as the unit of observation in nursing research. The group with chronic pain was found to have lower frequency patterning, as measured by HFM and PKPC, than the matched comparison group. Recommendations include replication and extension, incorporating treatments such as light, sound, and imagery and the use of HFM and PKPC as outcome measures.
Joyce Fitzpatrick (Advisor)
148 p.
Human patterning chronic pain

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Rapacz, K. E. (1991). Human patterning and chronic pain [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1055787688

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Rapacz, Katherine. Human patterning and chronic pain. 1991. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1055787688.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Rapacz, Katherine. "Human patterning and chronic pain." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 1991. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1055787688

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1055787688
3,329
© 1991, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.