Essay on “An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Living with Chronic Low Back Pain”

Design
The design of the study was grounded on the use of the qualitative approach. In fact, the quantitative approach was not the best for the study because it would provide the general statistical information on the frequency of calls to a doctor, the share of the population suffering from the chronic low back pain, the average age of patients with chronic low back pain and other issues related to the quantitative analysis of the chronic low back pain. However, the researcher focused on psychological responses of participants to the chronic low back pain and the researcher to track qualitative changes and responses of patients to their health problems. In other words, the quantitative approach would not meet the goals of the study, whereas findings could not be interpreted properly because responses of patients to their health problem should be assessed at the qualitative level and they may vary depending on individual characteristics of patients, whereas quantitative methods tend to generalizations of findings.

Therefore, the qualitative approach was the best for the study and the researcher used interviews successfully to conduct and complete the study. In fact, the use of interviews allowed the researcher to reach the main goals of the study and to obtain the detailed information from patients concerning their physiological and psychological state and their responses to their health problems. In addition, interviews included the personal opinion of each participant and allowed the researcher to obtain detailed information from each participant.

Participants
Participants of the study were patients with the chronic low back pain at the age of 39 to 66. Participants were representatives of different genders, from different social classes and with different professional and educational background.

Data quality
Basically, the data collected in the course of the study are reliable and valid. At the same time, the researcher can refer to a few supporting studies because previous studies conducted by other researchers focused on physiological aspects mainly and failed to reveal psychological responses of patients to the chronic low back pain.

Data analysis
The author used the qualitative method of analysis, which has proved to be quite effective. Moreover, the qualitative method of analysis met the goals of the study. In this regard, the study provides reliable results and findings, although the researcher failed to take into consideration the impact of physiological factors on the behavior of patients.

Conclusion
Thus, the article “An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Living with Chronic Low Back Pain” explores psychological responses of patients with chronic low back pain on their health problem. The author reveals the fact that patients may be negligent in relation to their health and postpone their call to a doctor. In such a context, health care professionals should provide patients with detailed information on possible risks and threats associated with the development of the chronic low back pain and its impact on their health and lifestyle.

References
Coole, C, Watson, P, & Drummond, A. (2010). Staying at work with back pain: patients’ experiences of work-related help received from gps and other clinicians. a qualitative study. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders