National Pain Week: Putting people at the centre of pain management

This National Pain Week, The Hopkins Centre is highlighting research that is helping reshape how persistent pain is managed by listening to the people who live with it every day. Kelly Walsh and Dr Nicholas Aitcheson’s ENGAGE project explored participants' experiences of the Metro South Pain Rehabilitation Centre's interdisciplinary pain management program, identifying practical ways to make group-based pain management more person-centred, accessible and responsive to individual needs. The findings reinforce that effective pain management extends beyond reducing pain and it is about helping people reconnect with meaningful activities, build confidence and live well despite persistent pain.   

One of the strongest themes to emerge was the power of shared lived experience. Participants described how connecting with others experiencing persistent pain reduced feelings of isolation and created hope for the future. As one participant shared, "It (Engage) made me feel less like I was the only one stuck out there in Painland."

Others spoke about learning to shift their focus from trying to eliminate pain to finding ways to live fulfilling lives alongside it - an important step towards re-engaging with family, community and the activities that matter most.

By placing participants' voices at the heart of service improvement, the Engage project is helping inform more compassionate, personalised pain management programs that empower people to move beyond pain and reconnect with life.

 

Read more about the ENGAGE project here.

Click here to view project poster 'Condiserations for person-centreing group pain management programs'.