Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (6)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Mortimer, C. M.
Right arrow Articles by Ravey, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Mortimer, C. M.
Right arrow Articles by Ravey, J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Health Education Research, Vol. 17, No. 3, 291-304, June 2002
© 2002 Oxford University Press

Patient information on phantom limb pain: a focus group study of patient experiences, perceptions and opinions

C. M. Mortimer, W. M. Steedman1, I. R. McMillan1, D. J. Martin and J. Ravey2

Scottish Network for Chronic Pain Research, and 1 Department of Occupational Therapy and Art Therapy, Queen Margaret University College, Leith Campus, Edinburgh EH6 F and 2 Faculty of Social and Health Sciences, University of Ulster, JordanstownBT37 0QB, UK

Educating patients about their condition is regarded as a fundamental step in pain management. This study used focus groups with patients to explore their experiences and perceptions of the information on phantom pain that they received before and after amputation, and their views on improving this information. Thirty-one patients with a lower limb amputation attended one of seven focus groups. The majority reported phantom pain although there were individual variations in character, severity and persistence. There were wide variations in what people were told from occasional reports of good information to instances of people reporting little or no information from professionals. There were strong feelings that information should be given before or soon after amputation with a preference for verbal one-to-one explanations. Professionals, particularly nurses and surgeons, were regarded as the best source of information, although peer support was seen to be important. These findings indicate that people require timely up-to-date information on phantom pain which sensitively addresses the variability of the experience and provides the foundation for ongoing pain management. We propose that the information process could be improved by ensuring that professionals use standard information for patients derived from purposefully written sections in national guidelines.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Health Education JournalHome page
D. Whitehead, J. Keast, V. Montgomery, and S. Hayman
A multidisciplinary osteoporosis service-based action research study
Health Education Journal, January 1, 2004; 63(4): 347 - 361.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.