Educational needs for spinal cord stimulation surgery

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  An exploration of the experiences and educational needs of patients with Failed Back Surgery Syndrome receiving spinal cord stimulation.

• IRAS ID

  153164

• Contact name

  Cormac Ryan

• Contact email

  c.ryan@tees.ac.uk

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 2 months, 31 days

• Research summary

  Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is a form of treatment for patients with chronic pain. It involves the surgical implantation of an electrode close to the spine. What patients think about SCS has not been investigated to any great extent and no studies have investigated how the trial period influences the patients’ decision to proceed to SCS implantation.

  Therefore, this study will explore what such SCS patients know about SCS, how it works and what they expect. It will also explore patients experiences of the trial and how it influences their decision making regarding progressing onto SCS implantation.

  The study aims to gain insight into the following:

  1. How patients understand neuropathic pain and its effects.
  2. How patients understand SCS and its effects on pain.
  3. The value that patients place on understanding pain and SCS.
  4. The patients’ expectations of SCS/the trial.
  5. The patients’ experiences of education on SCS.
  6. The patients' experiences of SCS, and the value of the trial period.

  To achieve these aims a researcher will interview 12 suitable patients at three time points: before their SCS trial, after the trial, and 2-3 months after the SCS implant. Suitable patients will be adult men and women who have been selected for SCS at James Cook University Hospital (JCUH) with FBSS. Each interview will last for one hour and will be offered at JCUH or in the patients' homes. The interviews will be recorded and transcribed. The research team will closely read the transcripts to identify common patterns and interesting individual descriptions within the patients’ accounts of their opinions and experiences. This will build up a clear picture of patients' understanding and experiences across the process of receiving and using SCS. From that we will have a clear idea of what information patients consider that they need.

  The study will be completed within 15 months.

• REC name

  South Central - Berkshire B Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  15/SC/0182

• Date of REC Opinion

  19 Mar 2015

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion