Resumo

DIAS, Maria do Rosário  e  BRITO, José Américo A.. No quotidiano da dor: a procura dos cuidados de saúde . Aná. Psicológica [online]. 2002, vol.20, n.1, pp.91-105. ISSN 0870-8231.

Pain is one of the symptoms that primarily prompt the individual's search of health care. Then, it is important to continue research on those factors implicated on pain perception and consequently on the individual's health-care seeking behavior. In this study, the relationship between the perceived pain and the individual's search of health care, aiming at the reduction or control of pain, is assessed in a sample of 1357 patients reporting pain, both male (N=675) and female (N=682), aged between 15 and 90 years, and selected at health care units in the region of «Lisboa e Vale do Tejo». The West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory (WHYMPI), which assesses chronic pain, was translated to the Portuguese language and applied. Results suggest an association between the level of pain perception and the selection of the health care unit, being the hospital the most chosen unit. Further and deeper research in this context is recommended, being its pertinence anchored in the need of an optimized response of the health care system, both on the improvement of patients' quality of life and on the economic effectiveness of the health services provided.

Palavras-chave : Pain; pain perception; health care seeking; health care units.

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