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What non-pharmacological and non-invasive pain management interventions are available for individuals from Turkish-speaking ethnic groups with non-malignant chronic pain? A scoping review of published literature

Authors: Nicklin David, Walumbe Jackie, Denneny Diarmuid, Godfrey EmmaJournal: British journal of painPublished: December 1, 2023DOI: 10.1177/20494637231196646
Limited EvidenceSystematic Review

In Plain Language: cancer pain, explained

A scoping review was selected to explore what non-pharmacological and non-invasive pain management interventions are available for individuals from Turkish-speaking ethnic groups with chronic pain and what represents the most appropriate intervention. Adults with non-malignant chronic pain from Turkish-speaking ethnic groups residing in or outside of Turkey. All non-pharmacological and non-invasive pain management interventions were considered. No limits were placed on geographic location, gender, sex or healthcare setting. The MEDLINE database was searched for published literature in April 2022. An English language filter was applied. No limits were placed on study design or date of publication. Data was charted from eligible studies into a data extraction table. Key concepts were identified during data extraction by DN. Eleven studies were included in the final review. All were conducted within a quantitative research paradigm. The studies were completed in Turkey (7), Belgium (1), Sweden (1) and Switzerland (1). One was a multi-country review. No studies were conducted in the UK. The primary interventions were heterogenous and included: pain science education (2), cognitive behavioural therapy (2), transcranial magnetic stimulation (1), balneotherapy (1), extracorporeal shockwave therapy (1), transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (1), wool therapy (1), exercise and patient dialogues (1) and aromatherapy massage and reflexology (1). Location of pain, outcome measures and timings of follow-ups were heterogeneous. Intervention heterogeneity, exclusively quantitative methodology and absence of studies completed in the UK meant no conclusions could be made on what represents the most appropriate non-pharmacological and non-invasive interventions intervention for individuals from Turkish speaking ethnic groups with non-malignant chronic pain.

Key Findings: what this systematic review found about cancer pain

  • ✓The scoping review identified only 11 studies examining non-pharmacological and non-invasive pain management interventions for Turkish-speaking individuals with chronic pain, indicating limited research in this area.
  • ✓All included studies employed quantitative research methodologies, with the majority (7 out of 11) being conducted in Turkey.
  • ✓The review found a scarcity of published literature on pain management interventions specifically tailored for Turkish-speaking ethnic groups with non-malignant chronic pain.

What This Means for You

While reflexology was identified as one option for chronic pain management in Turkish-speaking populations, the evidence is very limited as it appeared in only one study reviewed, so more research is needed to confirm its effectiveness.

What This Means for Practitioners

Reflexology may be considered as part of a diverse range of non-invasive pain management options for Turkish-speaking clients, but practitioners should be aware that current published evidence is minimal and additional research specific to this population is needed.

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Cancer pain: common questions

What does this study say about cancer pain?

While reflexology was identified as one option for chronic pain management in Turkish-speaking populations, the evidence is very limited as it appeared in only one study reviewed, so more research is needed to confirm its effectiveness.

What did this study find?

The scoping review identified only 11 studies examining non-pharmacological and non-invasive pain management interventions for Turkish-speaking individuals with chronic pain, indicating limited research in this area. All included studies employed quantitative research methodologies, with the majority (7 out of 11) being conducted in Turkey. The review found a scarcity of published literature on pain management interventions specifically tailored for Turkish-speaking ethnic groups with non-malignant chronic pain.

How strong is this evidence?

This is a systematic review and we rate its evidence limited. It was published in British journal of pain. This study is indexed here for context; it did not test reflexology itself.

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