Premium
An evaluation of a pain education programme for physiotherapists in clinical practice
Author(s) -
Monaghan Jenni,
Adams Nicola,
Fothergill Melissa
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
musculoskeletal care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.628
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1557-0681
pISSN - 1478-2189
DOI - 10.1002/msc.1218
Subject(s) - medicine , intervention (counseling) , context (archaeology) , physical therapy , clinical practice , focus group , test (biology) , descriptive statistics , physical medicine and rehabilitation , nursing , paleontology , statistics , mathematics , marketing , business , biology
Abstract Objective The present study evaluated the implementation and acceptability of a pain education programme delivered to physiotherapists in clinical practice. Methods A pre‐test/post‐test design with 10 physiotherapists was employed. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for outcome measure data. Focus groups were carried out with seven physiotherapists within 1 month post‐intervention. These data were analysed using the framework approach. Results Ten musculoskeletal physiotherapists were recruited. It was possible to develop and deliver the intervention and this was found to be acceptable to physiotherapists within clinical practice. The study explored trends within outcome measures, and one was considered appropriate. The focus groups yielded three interlinked themes, which related to the impact of the programme: “providing a context for pain education”, “influence on aspects of the patient–therapist encounter” and “logistics of the education programme in clinical practice”. Conclusions A pain education programme delivered to physiotherapists in clinical practice was both possible to deliver and acceptable to participants. A key strength of the programme was the applicability to real‐life practice, which was valued by physiotherapists. While physiotherapists felt that pain neurophysiology education was important, they reported lacking confidence in implementing their pain neurophysiology knowledge with patients. Thus, more time is needed to focus on pain neurophysiology education, with the aim of increasing confidence with the application of this approach in clinical practice.