Professional Coping Strategies in a Temporal Perspective: A Pilot Study on How Swedish General Practitioners Deal With Challenges Inherent in Pain Management

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore how general practitioners cope with the challenges they face when trying to provide effective interventions to pain patients within the organizational context of a health center. Based on interviews with 15 Swedish providers, the study suggests that the challenges that general practitioners experience in the consultations with patients must be understood in a temporal perspective related to the process of care (from initial consultations to “post-treatment”) and the help-seeking process (close to the onset of problems or later). The coping strategies used to handle these challenges can be summarized into four major domains. First, participants adopted a biopsychosocial model to provide proper care. Second, they employed strategies to enhance communication. Third, they coped with the organizational environment, and fourth, they used strategies to cope emotionally. The study contributes to a holistic perspective on providers’ coping strategies by addressing temporal and organizational aspects.