Pain knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of Australian osteopaths drawn from a nationally representative sample of the profession.

BACKGROUND: Pain has been identified as a global health issue with substantial effects on individuals and society. Health professionals managing pain complaints must have appropriate knowledge of pain neurophysiology, and attitudes and beliefs towards pain management that align with current practice guidelines. OBJECTIVES: Evaluate Australian osteopaths' current level of knowledge of pain neurophysiology and their beliefs and attitudes towards pain, and explore associations with demographic variables. METHOD: Australian osteopaths drawn from a nationally representative practice-based research network received the questionnaire. The questionnaire included demographic information, Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire (NPQ), Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale for Physiotherapists (PABS-PT) and the Attitudes to Back Pain Scale in Musculoskeletal Practitioners (ABS-mp). RESULTS: Complete responses were received from 211 osteopaths (21.3% response rate). The mean total NPQ score was equivalent to 72.2% correct responses. The PABS-PT Biomedical scale mean score was 38.8 ( ±9.1, α = 0.81) and the Biopsychosocial scale was 22.3 ( ±3.3, α = 0.38). ABS-mp mean factor scores suggest osteopaths support psychological approaches (22.1, ±3.3, α = 0.71) but endorsed more treatment sessions for those with back pain (15.9, ±4.7, α = 0.71). Trivial correlations between measures and most demographic variables were observed. Osteopaths who undertook further studies in pain had higher mean NPQ scores, with moderate negative correlations with a lower PABS-PT Biomedical subscale score (ρ = -0.45, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Australian osteopaths demonstrate a range of pain neurophysiology knowledge, and beliefs and attitudes towards pain. The findings support the positive impact of professional development for improving pain knowledge in this population.

Evaluating Patient's Understanding of Pain Neurophysiology: Rasch Analysis of the Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire.

OBJECTIVE: Educating patients about the neurobiologic basis of their pain experience is an important part of managing patients with pain disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the measurement properties of the Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire (NPQ) in a population seeking osteopathy treatment for both acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain symptoms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients attending the Victoria University Osteopathy Clinic for their initial osteopathy consultation were recruited consecutively. Before their consultation patients were invited to complete a health information questionnaire and the NPQ. The measurement properties of the NPQ were evaluated using Rasch analysis. RESULTS: Two-hundred and ninety-four patients completed the NPQ (female, 51.7%; mean age, 35.5 y). Over two-thirds of these patients presented with a spinal symptoms and 53% of patient presentations were acute. Initial analysis suggested the NPQ responses did not fit the Rasch model. Modifications to the NPQ including removing items and removing person responses, resulted in the development of a 14-item unidimensional version of the NPQ that was free from differential item functioning. DISCUSSION: The study provides further evidence for the validity of the NPQ total score, derived from a population seeking care for an acute or chronic musculoskeletal pain complaint. The total score is interval-level data and can be used to evaluate changes in pain knowledge before, during, and after pain education interventions. Future studies could utilize this revised version of the NPQ in longitudinal designs and also evaluate pain knowledge changes in conjunction with other objective or subjective pain measures.

Finding peace in clinical settings: A narrative review of concept and practice.

The purpose of this review was to investigate and review the concept of "peace" and the role it plays in the spiritual well-being and care of people with a chronic or terminal illness. Our objectives were, first, to examine the importance of peace in palliative care as a measure of acceptance and in chronic illness settings as a predictor of improved survival. Second, we explored the dimensions of peace and their relationships with spiritual well-being. We further examined how the constructs of peace are assessed both within valid spiritual well-being measures and as individual items related solely to peace. Finally, we examined therapies aimed at promoting peace and emotional well-being in palliative and chronic illness settings. Despite much being written about different constructs of peace and the positive effects of being at peace during times of illness, the effects of therapies on the feeling of peace are not well-studied.