Dolor crónico en personas mayores institucionalizadas: influencia del apoyo social y de variables afectivas / Chronic pain in the elderly nursing home population: the influence of social support and affective variables

Objetivo: Analizar si la ansiedad es la variable de mayor peso específico en la sensación de dolor, así como establecer de una manera clara el papel que desempeñan las variables de clima social y de interacción social en el proceso de dolor. Metodología: La muestra seleccionada fue de 74 ancianos (37 manifestaban dolor crónico y 37 no). Se recogieron también de cada sujeto datos demográficos, clínicos y test psicológicos (cuestionario STAI y Escala de MOS). Resultados: Las mayores diferencias entre los sujetos que manifiestan tener o no tener dolor se encuentran en las variables de ansiedad y en la ansiedad rasgo. Existe una alta correlación negativa entre la ansiedad y el clima social. El apoyo emocional y el clima social general son las variables de clima que más correlacionan negativamente con la ansiedad. Para el grupo de personas con dolor, la variable tenencia de familiares cercanos es la que actúa concomitantemente con las variables de clima social. Conclusiones: Se demuestra que la ansiedad es el predictor más importante del grado en que un sujeto informa tener dolor. Se considera que determinados instrumentos de medida del clima social, como es el caso de la Escala de MOS, son de gran ayuda para predecir la aparición de dolor crónico, y que manipulando sus variables integrantes el personal de los equipos de salud puede disponer de formas útiles que ayuden a mejorar positivamente a las personas mayores en la mejora de su calidad de vida (AU)

Objective: To analyse whether anxiety is the variable with the greatest specific weight in the sensation of pain, as well as to establish in a clear way the role that social climate and social interaction variables in the pain process. Methodology: The selected sample consisted of 74 elderly people (37 with chronic pain (37 had chronic pain and 37 did not). Demographic, clinical and and psychological tests (STAI questionnaire and MOS scale) were also collected from each subject. Results: The greatest differences between subjects who reported having or not having pain were found in the anxiety and trait anxiety variables. There is a high negative correlation between anxiety and social climate. Emotional support and general social climate are the climate variables that correlate most negatively with anxiety. For the group of people in pain, the variable having close relatives is the one that acts concomitantly with anxiety. Conclusions: Anxiety is shown to be the most important predictor of the degree to which a subject predictor of the degree to which a subject reports having pain. It is considered that certain instruments for measuring social climate, such as the MOS Scale, are the MOS Scale, are considered to be of great help in predicting the appearance of chronic pain, and that by manipulating its chronic pain, and that by manipulating its constituent variables, health team personnel can have ways to health care teams can have useful ways of helping to positively improve the elderly in the positively help older people to improve their quality of life (AU)

Personality Variables as Predictors of Health Services Consumption.

Expenditure on healthcare and services can be a serious problem for public health. Personality variables should be included as indicators to be considered when studying the consumption of health resources and their planning. This study aims to identify the psychological and psychosocial variables that identify people who can be considered high consumers of health resources versus those who barely consume such resources. The sample was made up of a total of 1124 subjects; one half were men, and one half were women, all of legal age and residents in Spain. A battery of tests was created that included a questionnaire of sociodemographic variables and of healthcare consumption, as well as several psychological variables (Zimbardo Time Paradox Inventory, Multidimensional Locus of Control Scale, Psychological Reactance Scale, Coping Responses Inventory, self-efficacy scale applied to health, and the Symptom Checklist-90-R). The following variables of the model were significant predictors (p ≤ 0.05): a negative past, a fatalistic present, psychological cognitive reactance, behavioral coping, health self-efficacy, and the level of somatization. Data from the statistical analyses show how to create a psychological profile of people who are high consumers of healthcare resources that will allow for the creation of intervention programs in this regard.

The Impact of Self-Efficacy and Subjective Cognitive Complaints on Health Care Use Among Middle-Aged Adults.

Self-efficacy (SE) has been shown to be a remarkable cognitive factor affecting health. Subjective perception of memory and other cognitive failures (i.e., subjective cognitive complaints [SCC]) have been associated with self-perception. The authors studied whether SE is a relevant subjective variable in predicting SCC in middle-aged adults living in the community (N = 438) and explored the role of SE and SCC in predicting health care use. SE, age, and cognitive performance predicted SCC. SE, age group, cognitive status, and SCC were predictors of health care use in univariate logistic regression analysis, although only SE, age group, and cognitive status remained significant in the multivariate analysis. The influence of SCC in health care use seems to be mediated by subjective estimations, such as those measured by SE. The authors suggest that well-implemented health education interventions might contribute to an increase in SE in middle-aged adults with a subsequent decrease in SCC, which would have a relevant effect in reducing the burden of care. [Research in Gerontological Nursing, 13(5), 228-232.].