| Summary: | The portfolio has three parts: a systematic literature review, an empirical study and a set of appendices. Part one: Comprises a systematic literature review in which studies relating to the use of self-initiated pain coping strategies in adults with cancer are reviewed. Fifteen studies were included in the review, including qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods designs. The studies reviewed had to have explored pain coping strategies and have included patient characteristics such as demographic, psychological or clinical variables that would allow for the investigation of possible relationships between the two. Part two: Comprises an empirical paper which explores the experiences of older people who self-manage their cancer pain at home. Patients attended semi-structured interviews with the main researcher. These interviews were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The data was analysed, emergent themes are presented and implications are discussed in regard to existing literature. Methodological limitations are discussed and potential areas for future research are identified. Part three: Comprises the appendices which support the work of the first two parts, and includes a reflective statement on the research process, an epistemological statement, and a worked example of IPA analysis.
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