Abstract

SANTOS, Josenaide Engracia  and  SOUZA, Rozemere Cardoso. Pain that speaks, pain that silences: meanings of pain for primary health care users. Rev. Psicol. Saúde [online]. 2021, vol.13, n.1, pp. 125-139. ISSN 2177-093X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.20435/pssa.v13i1.893.

Introduction: Pain may be of cognitive, physiological, or behavioral origin, and it may be associated with cultural and educational factors in pain perception. Objective: To understand the meanings attributed to pain by patients of primary health care. Methods: Qualitative research. Twenty patients aged between 30 and 65 who complained of pain were recruited. We have conducted individual interviews using guiding questions. The analysis was carried out through an idea association map. Results and discussion: We identified the following categories: pain as a personal experience and approaches for pain relief. The participants revealed in the narratives that women address pain in an undifferentiated, diffuse, and nameless way; in men, pain is palpable, measurable, and objective. The procedures used by women to relieve pain are psycho-pharmaceuticals, and men use the self-control of everyday life. Conclusion: Professionals must be more sensitive to people and the meanings they associate with their pain and their real needs. However, it is worth pointing out that, in a situation where the mind does not accept pain and conflicts, for both sexes, the body will respond in relentless ways and senses expressed by speech or by silence.

Keywords : pain; primary health care; human suffering.

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