Coping Strategies among Elderly Women with Knee Osteoarthritis Pain at Beni-Suef City: Impact of Socio-demographic Characteristics

Research Abstract

Background: The leading cause of pain and incapacity in elderly women is Osteoarthritis (OA). It affects females more frequently than males. The quantity and quality of coping resources that a person may have at their disposal affect the coping style they ultimately choose. The purpose of this study was to examine how the socio-demographic features of older women in Beni-Suef city who were experiencing knee Osteoarthritis (OA) pain affected their coping mechanisms. Design: The current study used a descriptive cross-sectional research design. The investigation was conducted in the orthopaedics outpatient clinic and the physiotherapy unit at Beni-Suef University Hospital. Subjects: In the current study, 300 studied women were recruited using a non-probability consecutive sampling technique. Tools: Pain Coping Inventory (PCI), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Interview Questionnaire Results: Based on the visual analogue scale for measuring pain intensity. It demonstrates that 50% of the older women in the study had low coping skills, 49.3% experienced moderate pain, 50.3% had moderate and 50.3% had severe pain. Younger (65-70 years old), women with intermediate education (38.5% and 32.7%), women who were retired and unemployed (48.1% and 32.7%), married (92.3%), women who lived in rural areas (53.8%) and elderly adult women with an adequate family income (92.3%) were more likely to use high levels of coping strategies. There was a positive association between pain level and activities of daily life (r= 0.109 and p= 0.05) and a severe negative link between the overall pain coping inventory and degree of pain (r= -0.280 and p= 0.000). Conclusion: Age, educational attainment, employment position and marital status all significantly influenced how well older women coped with pain. Even Nevertheless, there was a statistically significant correlation between the ability of older women to cope with pain and their monthly income and area of residence. The overall pain coping inventory and the visual analogue scale were shown to have a substantial negative connection. While the Katz scale for ADL and the pain coping inventory showed a positive association. Recommendations: Public health education in the media on osteoarthritis management

Research Keywords

Socio-demographic Characteristics; Coping Strategies; Elderly; Knee Osteoarthritis; Pain; Women