Understanding and enhancing patient and partner adjustment to disease-related pain: A biopsychosocial perspective

Abstract

Persistent, disease-related pain is a challenge not only for patients who experience it, but also for their loved ones. There is growing interest in involving partners and caregivers in pain management efforts. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss factors that influence patient and partner adjustment to diseaserelated pain within a biopsychosocial framework and provide an overview of biopsychosocial approaches involving partners in pain management. The chapter is divided into three sections. In the first section, we present a biopsychosocial model that can be used to understand how patients and their partners adjust to disease-related pain. In the second section, we discuss factors that influence patient and partner adjustment to both arthritis pain and cancer pain and how these factors are influenced by patient and partner pain management interventions. Finally, we highlight important future directions for clinical and research efforts in this area.