Lívia Gaspar Fernandes
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PhD Candidate & Assistant Research Fellow, Rehabilitation Teaching and Research Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Otago Wellington, NZ
I am Brazilian, physiotherapist by training, and a PhD candidate at the University of Otago. Working with trauma and rehabilitation in the humanitarian field made me extra curious towards the role of culture and in understanding lived experiences of people I interact with. I focus on developing work that can bridge the gap between academia and the real world. My academic path started studying telehealth and telerehabilitation, a sensitive topic during COVID-19 pandemic, and I am transitioning to qualitative research to investigate chronic pain with Indigenous peoples and Māori whānau. This transition has been approximating me to anthropology, humanities, and meaningful ways of collecting and interpreting data, including participatory research methods including arts-based and collaborative ethnography. In my PhD, I am focused on understanding how Māori whānau make sense – i.e., represent and symbolize – chronic pain.
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"We do not stop being indigenous when we are in pain": The Lived Experiences of Indigenous Peoples with Chronic Pain
Background: Chronic non-cancer pain is a major burden worldwide. Pain care offered by mainstream services are mostly based on Western worldviews, which tend to disregard traditional healing knowledge and methods.
Aim: To explore how Indigenous peoples across the globe make sense of pain when experiencing chronic non-cancer pain.
Methods: This integrative review included empirical and theoretical studies reporting qualitative findings of adult participants with chronic non-cancer pain. We searched electronic searches in main databases and grey literature. Data extraction and thematic analysis were performed using NVivo 1.7.1. We used critical theory as theoretical framework, privileging Indigenous perspectives through a Western intellectual framework (Two-Eyed Seeing approach).
Results: Of 1352 studies and reports screened for title and abstract, twenty-nine studies and three dissertations/thesis were included in this review. Included studies reported lived experiences of chronic pain among Indigenous peoples from Australasia (50%), North America (31%), and South America (19%).
Three main themes were identified after thematic analysis:
1) “Chronic pain is intertwined with colonisation memories”;
2) “Chronic pain requires resistance but may be a form of resignation”; and
3) “Chronic pain needs an inclusive approach”.
The themes expose the various facets of power imbalances faced by Indigenous peoples.
Conclusion and Implications: The collated themes help expand the mainstream views of chronic pain and identify opportunities for providing culturally safe pain care for Indigenous peoples. The holistic impacts of experiencing chronic pain require treatment approaches and options that include Indigenous knowledge and respect cultural protocols.
Aim: To explore how Indigenous peoples across the globe make sense of pain when experiencing chronic non-cancer pain.
Methods: This integrative review included empirical and theoretical studies reporting qualitative findings of adult participants with chronic non-cancer pain. We searched electronic searches in main databases and grey literature. Data extraction and thematic analysis were performed using NVivo 1.7.1. We used critical theory as theoretical framework, privileging Indigenous perspectives through a Western intellectual framework (Two-Eyed Seeing approach).
Results: Of 1352 studies and reports screened for title and abstract, twenty-nine studies and three dissertations/thesis were included in this review. Included studies reported lived experiences of chronic pain among Indigenous peoples from Australasia (50%), North America (31%), and South America (19%).
Three main themes were identified after thematic analysis:
1) “Chronic pain is intertwined with colonisation memories”;
2) “Chronic pain requires resistance but may be a form of resignation”; and
3) “Chronic pain needs an inclusive approach”.
The themes expose the various facets of power imbalances faced by Indigenous peoples.
Conclusion and Implications: The collated themes help expand the mainstream views of chronic pain and identify opportunities for providing culturally safe pain care for Indigenous peoples. The holistic impacts of experiencing chronic pain require treatment approaches and options that include Indigenous knowledge and respect cultural protocols.
