Chronic pain in the elderly: Occupational adaptation as a means of coping with osteoarthritis of the hip and/or knee

Objective: To determine whether elderly individuals with chronic pain as a result of osteoarthritis of the hip and/or knee would report adaptations to their activities, or occupational adaptations, as a coping response to pai n and, if so, to describe these adaptations and their relation to chronic p ain, functional difficulty, depression, social support, and life satisfacti on. Design: Thirty elderly individuals completed rating scales and a structured questionnaire designed to measure occupational adaptation and the importan ce of activity. Setting: Participants were community-dwelling elderly individuals and were interviewed in their homes or in a research office setting. Patients: Consecutive orthopedic surgeon, family physician, or Arthritis So ciety patients, whose names were provided with the patient's consent, to th e researcher. Results: Individuals reported two approaches to occupational adaptation: th ey changed how they performed personal activities of daily living that they rated as most important and they stopped performing a number of avocationa l activities that they rated as less important. Statistically significant c orrelations were found among occupational adaptation, pain, depression, and difficulty with functioning. These variables were inversely related to lif e satisfaction. Conclusions: This sample of elderly individuals with chronic pain described occupational adaptations, or adaptations to "doing," as a means of coping with their chronic pain. There appeared to be a relation among pain, functi onal difficulty, depression, social support, and occupational adaptation. A dditional research to increase the understanding of occupational adaptation as a means of coping with chronic pain is warranted.