Background And Objectives: Although general practitioners (GPs) are the first-line treatment providers for chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) in Australia, the experience of patients in this context is not well documented. This study explored patients' experiences with GPs managing their CNCP.
Method: Qualitative responses to two open-ended questions about GP care from adult respondents (n=200) to Chronic Pain Australia's 2021 National Pain Survey were thematically analysed.
Aims: To investigate rural cancer survivors' self-reported reasons for perceived delays in initial cancer detection and treatment.
Methods: Within a cohort study, adult cancer survivors who had travelled > 50 km for cancer care, staying at subsidised accommodation lodges in city centres in Queensland, Australia, were invited to complete a structured interview on perceived delays in: (i) seeking medical attention, (ii) receiving their diagnosis and (iii) commencing treatment. Content analysis was used to map self-reported reasons for perceived delays at each step, which were then categorised based on the perceived source: (i) personal, (ii) healthcare professional, (iii) healthcare system or (iv) other.
The purpose of this pilot randomized controlled trial was to examine the feasibility of an internet delivered, self-directed mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (iMBCT) program compared to a delayed treatment (DT) control. This trial employed a 2-group parallel (1:1), design and was pre-registered (ANZCTR Identifier: 12623000833662). Participants were N = 48 adults with chronic pain, randomized into either the 4-week iMBCT program or the DT control.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother
March 2025
Chronic pain affects millions of Australians. Despite guidelines recommending non-pharmacological approaches as the first line treatment, opioid medications remain among the most common treatments. This study interviewed consumers and consumer representatives (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRehabil Psychol
November 2024
Purpose/objective: This study sought to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a brief measure of the quality of therapist treatment delivery that would be applicable for use across different types of psychosocial chronic pain treatments: the Therapist Quality Scale (TQS).
Research Method/design: An initial pool of 14 items was adapted from existing measures, with items selected that are relevant across interventions tested in a parent trial comparing an 8-week, group, Zoom-delivered mindfulness meditation, cognitive therapy, and behavioral activation for chronic back pain from which data for this study were obtained. A random selection of 25% of video-recorded sessions from each cohort was coded for therapist quality (two randomly selected sessions per group), with 66 sessions included in the final analyses ( = 33 completed pairs).
A variety of evidence-based psychosocial treatments now exist for chronic pain. However, on average, effect sizes have tended to be modest and there is a high degree of heterogeneity in treatment response. In this focus article, we explore the potential role that therapist quality in delivering treatment may have in accounting for a degree of this variability in outcome.
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