Piloting a specialised Sickle Cell Pain Management Service; Version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding the impact of the introduction of a specialised Sickle Cell Pain Management Service into Sickle Cell services: a mixed methods pilot study
IRAS ID
132493
Contact name
Jared Smith
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
St George's, University of London
Research summary
Patients with sickle cell disease experience a combination of persistent and acute ‘crisis’ pain and as such often fall between and beyond the remit of established acute and chronic pain services. Yet the levels of pain experienced by patients with sickle cell can be much higher than those in other medical conditions and require complex management. Since high levels of pain and pain-related disability and distress form a significant part of the disease, it is important to offer patients the full range of appropriate and timely treatments. To address this need, a specialist Sickle Cell Pain Management Service is presently being developed. At the core of this initiative is the introduction of a specialised sickle cell pain management programme (SCPMP), a specialist joint Haematology-Chronic Pain Management consultant-led medical clinic, a programme of training sessions on biopsychosocial chronic pain management for relevant staff, and a programme of patient/carer education workshops. The aim of this project is to comprehensively evaluate these aspects of the initiative. This will be a mixed method observational cohort study, with one and six month follow-ups for the SCPMP, conducted at a single site (St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust;SGHT), piloting the specialist Sickle Cell Pain Management Service. A variety of measures will be administered to ascertain the acceptability of the initiatives to participants and, with respect to the SCPMP and joint Haematology-Chronic Pain Management clinic, to assess their potential to affect change over the course of intervention and in the months beyond. Measures include those relating to service user and staff experience, treatment credibility, health care outcomes, and treatment engagement. This pilot study will critically inform refinement and roll-out of the specialist Sickle Cell Pain Management Service across the Trust as well as provide strong guidance regarding the planning, design, management and conduct of a larger scale study.
REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NE/1069
Date of REC Opinion
25 Jul 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion