A Study for Coping Strategies and Anxiety of Patients with Chronic Pain in the Oriental Clinic

한의원 내원 만성 통증환자의 통증대처방식 및 불안에 대한 연구

Objective: This clinical research is conducted to find out coping strategies and anxiety of patients with chronic pain, and the correlation between pain coping strategy and anxiety. Method: 50 subjects who came to the local oriental clinic answered the questionnaires about VPMI(Vanderbilt Pain Management Inventory) and SAS(The Self-rating Anxiety Scale). Then we researched the characteristics of pain coping strategies and the correlation. Results: 1. The mean scores of passive coping, active coping, and SAS are 29.62, 17.90, and 38.32 respectively. 2. In the analysis of nonparametric test, the female subjects tend to take more passive coping than the male. The older subjects tend to take less active coping than the younger. Subjects who reported more intense pain tend to take more passive coping. 3. There is significant difference between passive coping and anxiety. Conclusion: Pain coping strategies are related with age, sex, intensity of pain, and anxiety. The therapeutic intervention of decreasing passive coping and increasing active coping may be useful to manage the chronic pain. Further study is needed to find out more adequate inquiries of active coping.