Chronic pain through COVID

M Dunham; L Bacon; S Cottom; P McCrone; H Mehrpouya; F Spyridonis; T Thompson; P Schofield

doi:10.3389/fpain.2022.937652

Chronic pain through COVID

Front Pain Res (Lausanne). 2022 Oct 19:3:937652. doi: 10.3389/fpain.2022.937652. eCollection 2022.

Authors

M Dunham¹, L Bacon², S Cottom³, P McCrone⁴, H Mehrpouya², F Spyridonis⁵, T Thompson⁶, P Schofield⁷

Affiliations

¹ School of Health / Social Care, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
² School of Design and Informatics, Abertay University, Dundee, United Kingdom.
³ Pain Association Scotland, Perth, United Kingdom.
⁴ Institute for Lifecourse Development, University of Greenwich, London, United Kingdom.
⁵ Department of Computer Science, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, United Kingdom.
⁶ School of Human Sciences, University of Greenwich, London, United Kingdom.
⁷ University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom.

Abstract

Objectives: To identify good practice in the community management of chronic pain, and to understand the perspective of a group of healthcare service users towards the management of chronic pain using technology during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Forty-five people, recruited via social media and Pain Association Scotland, participated in three focus groups hosted over Zoom. Focus groups were conducted using semi-structured questions to guide the conversation. Data were analysed using Ritchie / Spencer's Framework Analysis.

Results: The participants shared observations of their experiences of remotely supported chronic pain services and insights into the potential for future chronic pain care provision. Experiences were in the majority positive with some describing their rapid engagement with technology during the COVID pandemic.

Conclusion: Results suggest there is strong potential for telehealth to complement and support existing provision of pain management services.

Keywords: COVID-19; ageing; chronic pain; older people; remote healthcare.