Expectations of a Pain Management Programme
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring Patient Expectations of a Self-Management Pain Management Programme for Chronic Pain: A Thematic Analysis.
IRAS ID
196520
Contact name
David Sheffield
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Derby
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 31 days
Research summary
Patient Expectations of a Pain Management Programme
This study will run six focus groups investigating patient expectations of Pain Management Programmes (PMPs). The PMP at Royal Derby Hospital, has a taster session for the programme which can address unrealistic expectations. Therefore there will be two focus groups before the taster session; one after the session and one after the whole programme to assess expectations throughout different stages.
PMPs are effective in helping those living with chronic pain. Pain management programmes promote behaviour change and wellbeing by using education on the physiology of pain, psychological interventions such as cognitive behavioural therapy, relaxation and gentle exercise (British Pain Society).
Patient expectations of treatment for chronic pain can significantly affect outcomes of the treatment. Particularly, expectations can predict treatment outcomes for chronic pain services, in that patient with higher expectations are more likely to report positive outcomes and improvements. Furthermore, patients with chronic pain have reported changes in the their expectations throughout treatment, voicing expectations including the need for long-term pain management strategies and long-term quality of life. PMPs are designed to fulfil these goals, and therefore it would be useful to assess expectations of the programmes.
There are a number of benefits to investigating patient expectations of PMPs. Firstly, expectations will be able to be assessed in relation to their realistic nature – for example if patients are expecting their pain to be cured this is not realistic. Secondly, as the structure of PMPs can be flexible, the programme can adapt to include any realistic expectations voiced in the focus groups that are not currently included in the schedule. Thirdly, these expectations can be cross referenced with the guidelines for programmes recommended by the British Pain Society, to analyse whether these guidelines help the programme to focus on elements that patients expect.
REC name
South Central - Berkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/SC/0172
Date of REC Opinion
4 Apr 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion