Research

Pain Concern’s Breaking Barriers project aims to empower people with pain and healthcare professionals to make positive changes to improve how we manage pain

This project is supported by the Health and Social Care Alliance and the Edinburgh and Lothians Health Foundation.

The research study carried out by Pain Concern has identified a range of common barriers which can make the facilitation and adoption of self-management of chronic pain more difficult.

The study focused on the participants’ experiences of primary care and data was gathered from people living with chronic pain, carers and a wide range of primary care healthcare professionals. The study highlighted a range of commonly occurring barriers including those formed during one-to-one interactions between patient and healthcare professionals and those imposed by the constraints of the wider NHS organisation. The often lengthy and inconclusive patient journey towards diagnosis and treatment, the emotional impact of pain, the need for ongoing support and a purely medical approach were also highlighted as potential opportunities for barriers to form.

The report ‘Barriers to self-management of chronic pain in primary care’ is the first phase of a two-year project funded by the Self-Management IMPACT Fund and the Edinburgh and Lothians Health Foundation, which aims to advance the primary care management of chronic pain. The findings of the research study will be utilised in phase two of the project, running through 2015, to develop and pilot resources which may help to reduce some of the barriers highlighted in the initial research.

The full report and findings can be found here.

For more information or if you have any questions about the study, please contact research@painconcern.org.uk or write to Pain Concern Research, 62-66 Newcraighall Road, Edinburgh, EH15 3HS