Chronic Low Back Pain Experience, Pain management Strategies, and Quality of Life Among Family Caregivers of Persons With physical Disability in Nepal

Abstract

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the chronic low back pain (LBP) experience, pain management strategies and quality of life (QoL) among family caregivers of persons with physical disability in Nepal. One hundred and three family caregivers residing in the communities of eight districts of the Bagmati Zone of Nepal were selected with inclusion criteria. Data were collected by using self-report questionnaires including (1) Demographic, Health and Environment-related Data Form (DHEDF); (2) Pain Experience Questionnaire (PEQ); (3) Chronic Low Back Pain Management Questionnaire (CLBPMQ); (4) World Health Organization Quality of Life BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) Nepali Version. The questionnaires were validated content by three experts and their reliability was tested which yielded Cronbach alpha of .71 for pain intensity scale and .87 for pain interference scale of PEQ, and 90 for WHOQOL-BREF. Descriptive statistics and simple content analysis were used. The results of this study showed that the family caregivers experienced a moderate level of pain intensity (M = 4.5, SD = 1.1). The majority of the family caregivers (70.9%) experienced pain every day. The overall pain interference was at a moderate level (M = 4.2, SD = 1.7) with common interferences in normal work, general activities, and mood. The family caregivers used non-pharmacological pain management more than pharmacological management. The non-pharmacological pain management methods that family caregivers commonly used include endurance (40.7%), massage (20.4%), and hot application (15.5%). Pain medications were used by 30% of caregivers; in particular, Ibuprofen was the most commonly used. The majority of family caregivers managed LBP by themselves at home and they gave reasons that these pain management strategies could minimize pain. Most of them used pain management most of the time during pain. Ibuprofen was found to be moderately to highly effective, whereas non-pharmacological managements commonly used were little effective. Overall, the family caregivers perceived a moderate level of QoL (M = 71.2, SD = 12.1). Considering each domain of QoL, the social relationship domain had the highest mean score (M = 52.1, SD = 14.4), whereas the psychological domain had the lowest mean score (M = 40.1, SD = 16.4) followed by the environment domain (M=41.3, SD = 12.3). The findings of this study showed that the family caregivers had LBP and QoL at moderate levels. Therefore, the healthcare providers should provide education about LBP management to family caregivers and promote their psychological health and environment to enhance their QoL while caring for persons with physical disability.