Living with chronic pain: Patients' experiences with healthcare services in Norway

Abstract

Aim: To explore the experiences with healthcare received by people living with chronic nonmalignant pain in Norway. Design: A descriptive and explorative qualitative design. Methods: A total of 18 individual semistructured interviews was conducted in 2015. Qualitative content analysis was applied. Results: The findings revealed challenges related to a multifaceted pain condition. Participants described interactions with a supportive health care where being listened to, believed in and experiencing mutual trust were emphasized. When interactions with healthcare professionals made the participants feel insignificant, they found it difficult to express their needs, which seemed to reinforce practical difficulties and unfulfilled expectations and make them lose hope in their recovery. This implies the importance of a holistic understanding of and support for more person-centred practice to accommodate patients' expectations and expressed needs. Here, the nurses have an essential role in having a positive impact on future healthcare services.