Brain Fog in Veterans with Pain Symptoms

Dass, Ronessa

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/11375/30461

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DC Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.advisor	Packham, Tara	-
dc.contributor.author	Dass, Ronessa	-
dc.date.accessioned	2024-10-24T14:26:29Z	-
dc.date.available	2024-10-24T14:26:29Z	-
dc.date.issued	2024	-
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/11375/30461	-
dc.description.abstract	Veterans experience chronic pain at a rate twice higher than civilians. Brain fog (BF), a phenomenon of mental cloudiness associated with functional challenges in cognition, is one of the least studied symptoms of chronic pain. Pain interference, a construct of chronic pain, can limit participation with activities. Both BF and pain interference can disrupt quality of life (QoL) in Veterans by limiting health and meaningful participation. The relationship between BF and pain interference on QoL has not been investigated. Thus, the objective of this study is twofold: 1) understand the experience and 2) explore the impacts and the possible mitigation of pain interference of BF on the QoL, in Veterans with pain symptoms and BF. First, a qualitative descriptive method was employed using content and matrix analyses, to describe the impacts of brain fog on QoL in Veterans with BF and pain symptoms. The content analysis revealed the triggers, impacts, management strategies, and suggestions for healthcare professionals. The matrix analysis showed that women described difficulty managing BF with competing roles (e.g., motherly duties). Next, we conducted a cross-sectional study Veterans, exploring whether the perceived level of pain interference in Veterans with BF and pain symptoms affected measures of QoL. Results indicated Veterans with BF and high pain interference showed more mental health symptoms (p=0.003), and less perceived level of confidence with abilities (0.036) and physical health (p=0.003), than Veterans with BF and low pain interference. Post-hoc tests revealed no significant differences across gender. Next, to explore how QoL constructs we related, we performed an exploratory correlational analysis, revealing significant correlations between perceived level of confidence with abilities and 1) mental health (r=-0.48), 2) physical health (r=-0.44), and 3) functional cognition (-0.44). This study contributes to the overall knowledge of BF, guiding recommendations for the development of an assessment and research priorities.	en_US
dc.language.iso	en	en_US
dc.subject	Brain fog	en_US
dc.subject	Chronic pain	en_US
dc.subject	Veterans	en_US
dc.title	Brain Fog in Veterans with Pain Symptoms	en_US
dc.type	Article	en_US
dc.contributor.department	Rehabilitation Science	en_US
dc.description.degreetype	Thesis	en_US
dc.description.degree	Master of Science (MS)	en_US
dc.description.layabstract	‘Brain fog,’ a symptom seen in chronic pain, is described as feelings of mental cloudiness. Veterans may experience brain fog and pain symptoms more often than civilians. We wanted to learn about the experience of brain fog and how it affects the lives of Veterans with pain symptoms. First, we used a qualitative study to explore their experiences. Veterans told us about the impacts, triggers, and management strategies related to brain fog. Then, to understand the impact of brain fog on Veteran’s quality of life, three related factors were used (health-related quality of life, functional cognition, and perceived confidence with abilities), evaluated in terms of how much pain symptoms interfered with functioning. Veterans with brain fog and high pain interference had more mental health symptoms, and poorer physical health and confidence with their abilities. Overall, this study will hopefully provide some insight into how to better support Veterans.	en_US
Appears in Collections:	Open Access Dissertations and Theses

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