Searching for a cross-cultural definition of suffering; a bibliographic review
Introduction: Could we offer a definition of suffering free from our own subjectivity? The aim of the current bibliographic review is to offer a definition of suffering, leaving its measurement aside as a secondary matter. Methods: Medline, Proquest and Scopus databases in English were reviewed and...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Book |
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Universidad de Alicante,
2012-06-01T00:00:00Z.
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| Summary: | Introduction: Could we offer a definition of suffering free from our own subjectivity? The aim of the current bibliographic review is to offer a definition of suffering, leaving its measurement aside as a secondary matter. Methods: Medline, Proquest and Scopus databases in English were reviewed and 30 articles were selected. Results: Most authors support the complementarity of pain/symptom and suffering. The definition offered by E. Cassell is the most broadly cited in the literature: "Severe stress state associated with threatening events for personal integrity. The suffering of a person is conditioned by society and culture. There are three types of strategies in order to detect and/or measure suffering: Clinical practice, qualitative and quantitative research. Discussion: It is necessary to go deeper in the concept of suffering in order to find a cross - cultural definition which takes into account individual and socio - cultural aspects. Instruments for the objective measure of the intensity of suffering have not been found. Suffering is a subjective experience. |
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| Item Description: | 1699-6003 10.14198/cuid.2006.20.16 |