How Is Chronic Pain Managed in Rural Australia? A Qualitative Study Exploring Rural Healthcare Professional and Consumer Experiences.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Guideline-based care for chronic pain is variably provided. Existing data on chronic pain management in Australia come primarily from metropolitan samples. As the initial investigations for a wider needs assessment, we sought to understand how chronic pain is managed in rural Australia, focused on investigating the gap between guideline-recommended care and provided care.

Methods

We conducted semistructured interviews with rural healthcare professionals who treat patients with chronic pain and rural consumers affected by chronic pain. We asked healthcare professionals what treatments they deliver to patients with chronic pain. We asked consumers to describe the healthcare service providers they had accessed for pain care and the treatments they received from the

SUBMITTER: Grant AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11809133 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature