Objective: To explore the meaning of working life for a group of women sick-listed because of undefined, musculoskeletal pain disorders.
Design: Repeated thematic interviews, analysed qualitatively according to grounded theory.
Setting and participants: Twenty female patients, impaired by biomedically undefined pain and musculoskeletal disorders, were successively recruited at an urban primary health care centre in northern Sweden.
Main findings: There were discrepancies between work aspirations and work experiences concerning economic maintenance, social interaction, and personal recognition. The women had low-income jobs in fields threatened by redundancy, such as cleaning, care, and service. Family considerations had a strong impact on organization and priorities in paid work. In a situation of pain and sick leave, family orientation strengthened and work aspirations declined. Social and personal recognition was sought in the unpaid duties at home, and economic refuge in 'the state as supporter'.
Implications: To understand women with undefined musculoskeletal pain as patients, we must also understand their aspirations and experiences as workers, mothers, and spouses. 'Family considerations', 'diminishing paid work', and 'the state as supporter' are important concepts for understanding the women's sick role process.