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Researchers have developed a new national blueprint to help health professionals support the one in five Australians living with chronic pain, costing the Australian economy $139 billion every year.

Published in leading international interdisciplinary pain journal PAIN, the 鈥楲isten to me, learn from me鈥� framework was co-developed by a national team of 麻豆直播-led researchers and collaborators working in partnership with Australian people living with chronic pain, carers and health professionals.

Lead researcher Professor Helen Slater, from the Curtin School of School of Allied Health, said chronic pain was often debilitating for the Australians living with the condition, and with significant implications for the health system and economy.

鈥淟iving with chronic pain 鈥� or pain that lasts longer than 3 months – means lives are often put on hold. You can鈥檛 see pain, but it can derail people鈥檚 lives,鈥� Professor Slater said.

鈥淧eople with chronic pain are not consistently supported with high quality person-centred care in Australia, and it鈥檚 a similar situation across the world.

鈥淭ypically, health professional training and education in chronic pain care is shaped through a theoretical and clinical evidence lens, reflecting what we as academics and clinical experts think are important knowledge and skills, not necessarily what is important to people living with pain.鈥�

Co-author Professor Andrew Briggs, also from the Curtin School of Allied Health, said the study flipped the training lens 180 degrees to find out what was important to those that had, or cared for someone with, chronic pain.

鈥淲e partnered with Australians living with chronic pain, and carers to find out what they considered was the most important thing health professionals needed to be able to do to help them manage their chronic pain,鈥� Professor Briggs said.

鈥淎ustralian health professionals working in chronic pain care also contributed to shaping this framework.

鈥淥ne pain care priority in particular – 鈥楲isten to me, learn from me鈥� – captured the true essence of person-centred chronic pain care, and we knew right away that鈥檚 what the framework should be called.鈥�

John Curtin Distinguished Professor Peter O鈥橲ullivan, from the same school, said there were nine key focus areas of the new framework underpinned by 44 specific pain care priorities.

鈥淭hese priorities involve a range of skills that will form new health professional training targets, such as pain validation and more effective communication,鈥� Professor O鈥橲ullivan said.

鈥淨uality pain care is not routinely adopted. Our aim to ensure Australian health professionals are well trained to know how to best support people living with chronic pain and making these training programs digital means that more health professionals will have access to them.鈥�

With funding support from a four-year Commonwealth grant, the 鈥楲isten to me, Learn from me鈥� framework will be used as a blueprint for the development of Australian interdisciplinary pain training programs.

The pain training programs are being developed by a consortium funded by a grant awarded by the Federal Government and will be rolled out to all Australian health and medical professionals in 2023.

Research collaborators include HealthSense; The University of Western Australia; the University of Technology Auckland, New Zealand and the University of Sydney, (Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Economics).

The full paper, 鈥楲isten to me, learn from me鈥�: A Priority Setting Partnership for shaping interdisciplinary pain training to strengthen chronic pain care, is available and has been nominated as Editor鈥檚 Choice.