Background & Aims
One of the key goals identified in the Australian National Strategic Action Plan for Pain Management (2019) is for healthcare professionals who are ‘well informed on best practice evidence-based assessment and care and supported to deliver this care’ [1]. To support this goal, in 2020, a four-year grant was awarded by the Australian Government to a Consortium of Universities and peak bodies, led by the University of Sydney’s Pain Management Research Institute, for the development of digitally-supported interdisciplinary, healthcare professional pain management training programs. One outcome of this funding is the development of the Open Pain Education Network (OPEN) which provides a suite of online modules aimed to upskill health professionals in four key areas:
- Essential pain management (foundational knowledge);
- Preparing for pain self-management (foundational skills);
- Core pain self-management skills (clinical skills); and
- Safe and effective use of medications (clinical knowledge).
Methods
Educators and clinicians at the University of Sydney and Curtin University have collaborated to design the suite of training modules within OPEN. Initially, continuing education programs were reviewed to establish how they could be adapted to provide a foundation for OPEN training and determine what new content was required. To inform this work, the Curtin University team developed a consumer pain care priorities framework – ‘Listen to me, learn from me’ [2]. Australian people living with chronic pain and carers were asked, “what are the most important things health professionals can do to help people manage their chronic pain?”. Healthcare professionals were also consulted. The care priorities were mapped to the content of the training modules to ensure a person-centred focus is a central feature of OPEN.
In 2023, an external quality review of a selection of modules across the tiers (functionality, learning design, content, flexibility, accessibility, diversity representation) was conducted. This feedback has guided specific refinements, where appropriate, prior to a user testing activity in early 2024.
Results
OPEN has been designed to enable healthcare professionals to better support people living with chronic pain through high-value person-centred pain care. The program development will be completed in July 2024 and will include 15 modules tiered over 4 levels (Level 1: Essential Pain Management; Level 2: Preparing for Pain Self-Management; Level 3: Core Pain Self-Management Skills; and Level 4: Safe and Effective Use of Medication). Each module includes self-directed eLearning with a focus on practical upskilling to reflect real world practices (people’s pain stories, priority setting to support person-centred care).
The OPEN Clinical Pain Management Education Training Program is the only online interdisciplinary training in Clinical Pain Management available in Australia that has been shaped by Australian consumers with lived experience, carers, and internationally-recognised healthcare professionals and educators.
Conclusions
Upskilling healthcare professionals from all professional disciplines in person-centred, best practice pain management is critical. OPEN Clinical Pain Management Training Program is an eLearning training program to address this need, with content developed by leading clinical experts and informed by input from Australians with lived experience of pain. The training program will ensure more equitable access to training in best practice person-centred pain care for all healthcare professionals regardless of their location, career stage or professional discipline.
References
[1] Australian Government, Department of Health. National strategic action plan for pain management. Canberra: Department of Health (Australia); 2019 https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/the-national-strategic-action-plan-for-pain-management
[2] Slater H, Jordan JE, O’Sullivan PB, Schütze R, Goucke R, Chua J, Browne A, Horgan B, De Morgan S, Briggs AM. ‘Listen to me, learn from me’: a priority setting partnership for shaping interdisciplinary pain training to strengthen chronic pain care. Pain. 2022 Apr 6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35384928/
Presenting Author
Elizabeth Devonshire
Poster Authors
Elizabeth Devonshire
PhD
The Univ Of Sydney
Lead Author
Simone De Morgan PhD
The University of Sydney
Lead Author
Fiona Blyth
University of Sydney
Lead Author
Duncan Sanders
The University of Sydney
Lead Author
Helen Slater
Curtin University
Lead Author
Roger Goucke
Curtin University
Lead Author
Michael Nicholas
Pain Management Research Institute
Lead Author
Topics
- Education