An evolving theory on “women's sense of control while in chronic pain and the results of the quality of their encounters with health professionals” is introduced in this article. According to the theory, the main challenge of women in chronic pain is to maintain a sense of control of self and the pain to avoid demoralization, which is seen as a potential threat for all women in chronic pain. To retain a sense of control, women are challenged to learn to live with the pain and cope with the unpredictability and incurability of the pain. They are challenged to find meaning in their suffering, to create personal space, and to be self-protective as well as to keep a positive self-image and self-esteem while trying to live a “normal” life in dignity in spite of the pain and warding off isolation and demoralization. Health professionals are seen as potentially powerful people in the lives of women in chronic pain. Empowerment or disempowerment from them greatly influences whether women in chronic pain are demoralized or not.

Multidisciplinary pain-management programs have the potential to decrease pain intensity, improve health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and increase sleep quality. In this longitudinal prospective cohort study, the aim was to investigate the long-term effects of multidisciplinary pain rehabilitation interventions in Iceland. More precisely, we (a) explored and described how individuals with chronic pain evaluated their pain severity, sleep, and HRQOL at pre-treatment and at one-year follow-up and (b) examined what predicted the participants’ one-year follow-up HRQOL. Seventy-nine patients aged 20–68 years, most of whom were women (85%), responded. The participants scored their pain lower at one-year follow-up (p < 0.001). According to their response, most of them had disrupted sleep, mainly because of pain. One year after the treatment, more participants slept through the night (p = 0.004), and their HRQOL increased. Higher pre-treatment mental component summary (MCS) scores and having pursued higher education predicted higher MCS scores at one-year follow-up, and higher pre-treatment physical component summary (PCS) scores predicted higher PCS scores at one-year follow-up. Sleep problems, being a woman, and having children younger than 18 years of age predicted lower MCS scores at one-year follow-up. These findings are suggestive that patients should be examined with respect to their mental status, and it could be beneficial if they received some professional support after completing the intervention.

Background: Middle managers have not received enough attention within the healthcare field, and little is known how stressful factors in their work environment coupled with a lack of adequate sleep are related to musculoskeletal pain. The aim of this study was to examine the correlation between stressful factors in the work environment, lack of adequate sleep, and pain/discomfort in three body areas. Methods: Questionnaire was sent electronically to all female nursing unit managers (NUM) in Iceland through the outcome-survey system. The response rate was 80.9%. Results: NUM who had high pain/discomfort in the neck area also had very high pain/discomfort in the shoulder area and pain in the lower back. The results also revealed positive a medium-strong correlation between mental and physical exhaustion at the end of the workday and musculoskeletal pain. Stress in daily work, mental strain at work, and being under time-pressures had hardly any correlation with pain/discomfort in the three body parts. Adequate sleep had a significant negative correlation with all stressful factors in the work environment and all three body parts under review. Conclusion: The results will hopefully lead to a better consideration of stressful factors in the work environment, sleep, and musculoskeletal pain in middle managers.

Aim: To explore the lived experience of individuals' in chronic pain of participating in a pain rehabilitation programme in Iceland.Design: Phenomenological research.Method: The Vancouver School of Doing Phenomenology. Eleven participants were interviewed.Results: The overarching theme was as follows: “the journey of breaking the vicious circle of chronic pain.” Before the programme, the participants felt they were in survival mode, trying to survive each day; they were stuck in a vicious circle of chronic pain, simultaneously trying to ease and conceal the pain. Reaching out for professional help was a turning point. While attending the programme, participants began deconstructing their old ways of dealing with chronic pain. After completing the programme, they were still reconstructing their daily lives. In conclusion, pain rehabilitation programmes can be the first step towards breaking the vicious circle of chronic pain.