Abstract: Background: Persons with chronic pain report a range of occupational problems. The specific health needs of immigrants are judged to be poorly understood, and health systems are not prepared to respond adequately. Being an immigrant is regarded as a risk factor for the progression of chronic widespread pain into a state of disability. Objectives: To explore occupational life trajectories among immigrant women with chronic pain. Material and methods: A qualitative content analysis was used to capture the latent meaning of experiences in individual interviews of eight women with immigrant background and chronic pain. Results: An overarching theme, ‘making the best of a conditional situation’, representing the women’s occupational life trajectories, covers the content of two categories: ‘being controlled’, including affected self-perception, social relations, and future prospects, and ‘trying to deal with challenges’, comprising a focus on resources, having trust in one’s own judgements and getting help from others. Conclusion and significance: The experiences demonstrate an occupational life controlled by internal and external factors and may be understood as a disrupted occupational life trajectory. This knowledge may be helpful to occupational therapists supporting immigrant women’s attempts to regain a structured life despite the constant presence of pain. © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

long-term pain Activities of daily living Qualitative method migrant Occupational therapy

Social Norms social norm Interpersonal Relations human middle aged daily life activity Activities of Daily Living Internal-External Control control Aged qualitative research human relation interview Sweden Humans psychology Interviews as Topic female musculoskeletal pain self concept social participation adult migration Emigration and Immigration employment Chronic Pain