Guided Self-Help for People with Chronic Pain: Integrated Care in a Public Tertiary Pain Clinic—A Pilot Study

Abstract

Plain Language Summary Globally, chronic pain affects more than 30% of people worldwide and is the leading cause of disability and healthcare use. Access to available, effective, and individualised programs is unattainable . People living in regional, rural and remote areas are disproportionately affected due to scarcity of services and qualified, multidisciplinary health and medical professionals. Scalable solutions are needed to increase access to effective, evidence-based care options and reduce inequities for people with chronic pain. Caring and supporting people with chronic pain requires effective, multifaceted bio-psychosocial approaches that are tailored to individual needs. Using ‘coaches’, a manualised Guided Self-Help (GSH) program was integrated within a multidisciplinary tertiary pain unit in a public hospital in Australia, which showed promising solutions to increasing access and availability of timely, cost-effective supports that can be delivered via mobile devices. This pilot study explored the effectiveness of offering a GSH program to people with chronic pain integrated into a hospital-based, public, pain management unit to see if it increased people’s understanding of their pain and strategies that would support self-management. Coaches working in multidisciplinary teams can support people with information and strategies for their chronic pain, which can free up higher-trained health and medical professionals to care for people with greater complexity and ensure that timely access to support is received by matching need to level and type of support.

Keywords

• Chronic pain
• Guided self-help
• Integrated care
• Cognitive behavioural therapy
• Telehealth
• Behavioural health coach