Interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation for immigrants with chronic pain who need language interpretation

Objective: To investigate outcomes in patients with chronic pain after participation in an interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation programme with language interpreters, and to investigate the outcomes in women and men separately. Design: Prospective multi -centre cohort study. Patients: Ninety-five patients in Sweden with chronic pain who have insufficient knowledge of the Swedish language. Methods: Duration and intensity of pain, anxiety and depression, health -related quality of life and fear of movement were evaluated before and after the programme. Patients were compared with a reference group comprising Swedish -speaking patients participating in an ordinary interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation programme. Results: Before the interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation programme with language interpreters, all variables except pain duration differed significantly to the detriment of the studied group. The studied group showed significant improvements after the interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation programme with language interpreters, with regards to pain intensity, depression and fear of movement. The reference group improved significantly for all variables. The women in the studied group showed significant improvements for the same variables as the whole group, while the men in the studied group did not improve in any of the variables. Conclusion: This study indicates that patients with chronic pain, and especially women, who have insufficient knowledge of Swedish seem to benefit from participating in an interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation programme with language interpreters. The result may be of value for the further development of rehabilitation programmes with language interpreters. LAY ABSTRACT Many people live with chronic pain that frequently causes suffering, since it often affects mood and the ability to cope with daily life. For immigrants, chronic pain can be an even greater problem, because they often experience other difficulties to a greater extent than does the native population. People with chronic pain may be offered rehabilitation. A method called interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation, comprising practical and theoretical interventions led by different professions, has helped many patients. However, to date, immigrants in Sweden with no knowledge of the Swedish language have been excluded from interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation. This study evaluates 2 interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation programmes in Sweden that included language interpreters, enabling immigrants with insufficient knowledge of the Swedish language to participate. The results indicate that interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation with language interpreters is feasible. It is hoped that more interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation programmes with language interpreters will be offered in future.