106: Pain Education for Doctors, Patients, and Parents

Airing Pain

This edition has been funded by Pain Concern supporter and cyclist Ade and The Sackler Trust.

According to the British Pain Society, doctors and other healthcare professionals (HCPs) receive less training in pain management than veterinarians.* With pain being one of the major presenting factors for a large number of medical problems, this edition of Airing Pain looks into what programmes are being implemented to alleviate this knowledge gap.

Dr Helen Lakins, deputy lead for the UK Essential Pain Management Course, describes how the course developed from being taught to HCPs in developing countries to being used in Australia and the UK. The predominant aim of the course is in response to the majority of medical undergraduates believing they are not receiving adequate pain training.

Swansea University is currently undertaking a research study into patients’ beliefs and expectations of pain medications. Paul speaks to Dr Sherrill Snelgrove and Sarah Long about how the study has found evidence that our beliefs about medication and illness can feed into how we manage pain.

Finally, Paul speaks to psychologist Dr Jo McParland of Glasgow Caledonian University about her involvement in a study focusing on parent appraisals of injustice when their child has chronic pain. Dr McParland emphasises the importance of highlighting the child’s experience, as well as validation from both HCPs and parents themselves.

Contributors:

• Dr Joanna McParland,Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian University
• Dr Helen Makins, Clinical Lead of The Essential Pain Management Course, Consultant in Pain Medicine & Anaesthesia, Gloucestershire Hospitals and Dilke Memorial Hospital
• Dr Sherrill Snelgrove, Associate Professor, Public Health, Policy and Social Sciences, Swansea University
• Sarah Long, Pharmaceutical Advisor, NHS Wales.

More information:

• Ade’s “21 Days of Pain” Campaign: http://www.21daysofpain.org.uk/
• More information on Swansea University long term pain research study: http://painconcern.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Poster-with-link-2.pdf.

*Andrew Baranowski, BPS President