Delivering NHS Community Pain Service Pain Management Programmes during Covid 19 via video conferencing: patient and clinician experiences and outcomes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59210/t65k1w68Keywords:
Pain management programme,, solution-focused, expert patient, video conferencing, community, positive psychologyAbstract
Objective
This article, with patient and clinician authorship, has two parts. Part one describes the development of a co-produced solution-focused (SF) virtual Pain Management Programme (vPMP) in an NHS community setting during year one of the Covid-19 pandemic, using live video conferencing. Part two reports on a service evaluation exploring vPMP outcomes in the context of service aims and objectives.
Design
17 patients with a range of chronic pain conditions completed 9-week multidisciplinary vPMPs from July 2020 - January 2021. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected.
Results
Statistically and clinically significant improvements in pre-post pain self-efficacy, mental well-being, and function, and significant statistical improvement in hope were found (despite no significant changes in pain intensity or interference),
broadly consistent with the service’s face-to-face (f2f) PMP outcomes and with other studies. An in-house tool “iGro” captured personalised change, with patients reporting an increased sense of their ‘best hopes’ becoming actualised post-PMP. Thematic analysis identified four main themes; ‘Emotional Well-Being’, ‘Pain Management Solutions’, ‘Changed Attitude’ and ‘vPMP Access’. High levels of attendance and engagement were observed.
Conclusions
The practice-based design necessitates caution be exercised with interpretation and generalisability. Nonetheless, preliminary outcomes provide tentative evidence that this SF vPMP was an effective, accessible and meaningful remote intervention.
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References
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Copyright (c) 2026 Rebecca Simm, Susan England, Faheema Patel (Author)
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