Charting physiotherapy students’ attitudes toward people with chronic pain as they progress through their undergraduate programme: An observational study

BACKGROUND Digital health interventions can bridge barriers in access to treatment of care for individuals with chronic pain. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate the perceived needs, engagement and the effectiveness of the mental health app Wysa on mental health outcomes among real-world users who reported chronic pain and engaged with the app for support. METHODS Real-world data from users (N = 2,194) who reported chronic pain and associated health conditions in their conversations with a mental health app was analyzed using a mixed-method retrospective observational study. An inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse conversational data of users with chronic pain to assess perceived needs, along with comparative macro-analyses of conversational flows to capture engagement within the app. Additionally, the scores from a subset of users who completed a set of pre-post assessment questionnaires, namely PHQ-9 (N=69) and GAD-7 (N=57), were examined to evaluate the effectiveness of Wysa in providing support for mental health concerns for those managing chronic pain. RESULTS The themes emerging from the conversations of users with chronic pain included Health Concerns, Socioeconomic Concerns, and Pain Management Concerns. Findings from the quantitative analysis indicated that users with chronic pain showed significantly greater app engagement (p value <2.2e-16) than users without chronic pain, with a large effect size (Vargha and Delaney’s A- 0.76 -0.8). Furthermore, the sample of users with pre-post assessments during the study period were found to have significant improvements in group means on both PHQ-9 and GAD-7 symptom scores, with medium effect size (Cohens’d, 0.6-0.61), respectively. CONCLUSIONS The findings indicate that users look for tools that can help them address their concerns related to mental health, pain management, and sleep issues. The study findings also indicate the breadth of needs for users with chronic pain and the lack of support structures, and suggests that Wysa can provide effective support to bridge the gap.

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Personality and psychiatric disorders in chronic pain male affected by erectile dysfunction: prospective and observational study

International Journal of Impotence Research ◽

10.1038/s41443-020-0294-9 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Raquel Ajo ◽

María-del-Mar Inda ◽

Margarita Mateu ◽

Ana Segura ◽

Pura Ballester ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chronic Pain ◽

Erectile Dysfunction ◽

Observational Study ◽

Psychiatric Disorders

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An Observational Study Comparing Fibromyalgia and Chronic Low Back Pain in Somatosensory Sensitivity, Motor Function and Balance

Healthcare ◽

10.3390/healthcare9111533 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (11) ◽

pp. 1533

Author(s):

José Antonio Mingorance ◽

Pedro Montoya ◽

José García Vivas Miranda ◽

Inmaculada Riquelme

Keyword(s):

Chronic Pain ◽

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Observational Study ◽

Motor Function ◽

Chronic Low Back Pain ◽

Functional Performance ◽

Low Back ◽

Somatosensory Sensitivity ◽

Chronic Pain Conditions

Fibromyalgia (FM) and chronic low back pain (CLBP) have shared pathophysiology and have a considerable impact on patients’ daily activities and quality of life. The main objective of this study was to compare pain impact, somatosensory sensitivity, motor functionality, and balance among 60 patients with FM, 60 patients with CLBP, and 60 pain-free controls aged between 30 and 65 years. It is essential to know the possible differences existing in symptomatology of two of the major chronic pain processes that most affect the population, such as FM and CLBP. The fact of establishing possible differences in sensory thresholds, motor function, and proprioceptive measures among patients with FM and CLBP could bring us closer to a greater knowledge of the chronic pain process. Through an observational study, a comparison was made between the three groups (FM, CLBP, and pain-free controls) evaluating functional performance, postural balance, kinematic gait parameters, strength, depression, fatigue, and sensitivity to pain and vibration. Patients with chronic pain showed worse somatosensory sensitivity (p < 0.001) and motor function (p < 0.001) than pain-free controls. Moreover, patients with FM showed greater pain impact (p < 0.001) and bigger somatosensory (p < 0.001) and motor deficiencies (p < 0.001) than patients with CLBP. Further research should explore the possible reasons for the greater deterioration in patients with FM in comparison with other chronic pain conditions. Our results, showing the multiple areas susceptible of deterioration, make it necessary to adopt interdisciplinary interventions focused both on physical and emotional dysfunction.

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