Browsing by Author "De Ruddere, Lies"

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    Differential Effect of Patient Weight on Pain-Related Judgements About Male and Female Chronic Low Back Pain Patients
    (Elsevier, 2017) Miller, Megan M.; Allison, Ashley; Trost, Zina; De Ruddere, Lies; Wheelis, Tori; Goubert, Liesbet; Hirsh, Adam T.; Psychology, School of Science
    Compared with men, women report more pain and are at increased risk for having pain discounted or misattributed to psychological causes. Overweight individuals experience high rates of pain and may receive suboptimal care because of provider bias. Research suggests the social consequences of being overweight are worse for women than men, and that gender and weight uniquely and interactively affect pain experience and care. Healthy participants (n = 616) viewed 6 videos of back pain patients (1 female and 1 male of normal weight, overweight, and obese categories) performing a functional task. Participants provided judgements/ratings regarding patient pain (intensity, interference, exaggeration), potential sources of patient pain (medical, psychological), and treatment recommendations (opioids, psychological therapy, seek workplace accommodations). Results suggest that the pain of normal and overweight women and obese men was discounted (judged as less intense, less interfering, more exaggerated, and less attributable to medical factors) and judged as less in need of treatment (treated with less opioids and workplace accommodations). Across all weight categories, women's pain was attributed more to psychological factors and was more likely to receive recommendations for psychological therapy than men's pain. These findings highlight the differential effect of patient weight on pain-related judgements about women and men. Perspective This article examines the relationships among patient weight, patient gender, and observers' pain appraisals and treatment recommendations. These findings highlight the differential effect of patient weight on pain-related judgements about women and men and indicate the need for research to determine how these judgements affect treatment decisions in clinical settings.
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    Pain Intensity And Attribution Mediate The Impact Of Patient Weight And Gender On Activity Recommendations For Chronic Pain
    (Dovepress, 2019-09-19) Mehok, Lauren E.; Miller, Megan M.; Trost, Zina; Goubert, Liesbet; De Ruddere, Lies; Hirsh, Adam T.; Psychology, School of Science
    Background and purpose: Despite the notable benefits of physical activity for chronic pain, a large proportion of patients with chronic pain report that they do not receive activity-related recommendations from their providers. Research suggests that patient factors such as weight and gender influence activity-related recommendations for chronic pain. Research also suggests that appraisals of the intensity and cause of pain may explain these weight and gender effects. We investigated the influence of patient weight and gender on observers' likelihood of recommending activity-related treatments for pain. We also explored the mediating effects of observers' ratings of pain severity and the extent to which pain was due to medical and lifestyle factors (pain attribution). Patients and methods: Healthy young adults (N=616; 76% female) viewed videos (Ghent Pain Videos of Daily Activities) and vignettes of 4 patients with chronic back pain performing a standardized functional task. Patients varied by gender (female, male) and weight (normal, obese), but were otherwise equivalent on demographic characteristics and pain behaviors. Participants rated how much pain they perceived the patients to be experiencing, the extent to which they attributed the pain to medical and lifestyle factors, and their likelihood of recommending exercise, physical therapy (PT), and rest. Results: Patient weight and gender significantly interacted to influence exercise, PT, and rest recommendations. Both pain intensity and pain attribution mediated the relationships between patient weight and activity recommendations; however, these mediation effects differed across gender and recommendation type. Conclusion: Patient weight and gender influenced laypeople's activity recommendations for chronic pain. Moreover, the results suggest that observers' perceptions of pain intensity and pain attributions are mechanisms underlying these effects. If these findings are replicated in providers, interventions may need to be developed to reduce provider biases and increase their recognition of the benefits of physical activity for chronic pain.