| Title |
Exploring the experience of chronic pain among female Survival Sex Workers: a qualitative study
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
BMC Primary Care, December 2015
|
| DOI | 10.1186/s12875-015-0395-6 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Caroline Allen, Alka Murphy, Sheri Kiselbach, Stephanie VandenBerg, Ellen Wiebe |
| Abstract |
The prevalence of self-identified chronic pain in Canadian adults is approximately one in five people. Marginalization and addictions have been shown to complicate chronic pain in vulnerable populations. This study aimed to understand the experience of chronic pain among female Survival Sex Workers in Vancouver's downtown eastside (DTES). This study used an exploratory qualitative analysis with in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Members of PACE Society who self-identified as a current or former Survival Sex Worker and who had a chronic pain experience known to PACE support workers were invited to participate. Interviews were conducted, audio recorded and transcribed. The investigators met to read the transcripts and discuss emerging themes. The process continued until no new themes were observed. Participants ranged in age from 42 to 56 years old and all self- identified as females and Survival Sex Workers. Eleven of thirteen interviews were analyzed for themes. Drug use for pain management, both prescribed and illicit, was the most important theme. Poverty, the need to continue working and the lack of stable housing were barriers to adequately addressing the source of chronic pain. Participants felt judged for living in the downtown eastside, being a drug user and/or being Aboriginal and only two participants had been referred to a pain specialist. All participants were involved in support networks made up of other Sex Workers and all spoke of a sense of community and survival. Our study emphasizes the complex nature of chronic pain and addictions among a uniquely marginalized population. The study is unique in that it contributes the perspectives of a traditionally "hard-to-reach" population and demonstrates that Sex Workers should not only participate in but should lead development and implementation of research and programs for managing chronic pain in the setting of addiction. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 13 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 4 | 31% |
| Canada | 2 | 15% |
| Australia | 1 | 8% |
| Unknown | 6 | 46% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 12 | 92% |
| Scientists | 1 | 8% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 24 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 24 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 3 | 13% |
| Lecturer | 2 | 8% |
| Professor | 1 | 4% |
| Student > Master | 1 | 4% |
| Researcher | 1 | 4% |
| Other | 0 | 0% |
| Unknown | 16 | 67% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Social Sciences | 2 | 8% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 1 | 4% |
| Physics and Astronomy | 1 | 4% |
| Psychology | 1 | 4% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 1 | 4% |
| Other | 1 | 4% |
| Unknown | 17 | 71% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 10. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 01 November 2016.
All research outputs
#3,601,228
of 25,374,647 outputs
Outputs from BMC Primary Care
#495
of 2,359 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#57,791
of 396,034 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Primary Care
#9
of 27 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,374,647 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 85th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 2,359 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 7.7. This one has done well, scoring higher than 78% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 27 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 66% of its contemporaries.