Lifelong Health and Wellbeing study targets chronic pain
11 June 2010
A four year, £1.2m study into chronic pain in older people has been launched in Scotland this week, funded by the Lifelong Health and Wellbeing programme led by the Medical Research Council (MRC). Scientists hope the study will ultimately lead to new and better strategies for suffers to self manage their pain. The study known as EOPIC- Engaging with Older People in developing and designing interventions for the management of Chronic pain – is led by the University of Aberdeen.
Persistent pain blights the lives of around 50 per cent of people aged 65 and over. It could be pain in the knee or hip, a sore back, or be caused by arthritis, but for many people chronic pain can be isolating and seriously affect their quality of life.
EOPIC will explore the attitudes and approaches of GPs, primary care teams, pain clinics and older adults towards pain management. The research team, from the University’s Centre of Academic Primary Care, has begun by speaking to older people within the Aberdeen area who suffer from chronic pain; defined as pain that lasts longer than three months. They will also seek input from people and carers who attend Aberdeen’s pain clinic.
Dr Pat Schofield, Director for the Centre for Advanced Studies in Nursing within the Centre of Academic Primary Care, said: “The overall aim of the study is to achieve a deeper understanding of the consequences of ageing with chronic pain. Our findings will enable us to develop innovative ways in which older people have the knowledge, skills and confidence to live independently at home while self managing their pain.”
In collaboration with researchers from the University of Teeside and Glasgow Caledonian University, the EOPIC team will also work to enhance existing pain management resources and to develop new tools to provide practical help and advice for older adults who live with pain. Study participants will be consulted to enable the most user friendly materials to be developed.
Blair Smith, Professor of Primary Care Medicine at the Centre of Academic Primary Care, said: “Chronic pain can have a huge impact on sufferers’ lives and if you are an older person you may think it is just something you have to have to put up with. However chronic pain can affect almost every aspect of life and it can be extremely isolating as it may prevent you from doing your usual activities. It can also lead to feelings of helplessness, depression, isolation as well as disability and family breakdown. Our study aims to deliver more effective ways of self managing chronic pain which is a problem that will only worsen with our ageing population.”
Denise Gray, Research Fellow, added: “For the first phase of our study we want to recruit 20 men or women who are living independently in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire and who suffer from chronic pain. At this stage of our study volunteers should not be attending the pain clinic or involved in any other health service for their condition.”
Ron Marsh, a retired BT marketing manager, has lived with chronic pain for around 40 years, he is currently a patient adviser to the University of Aberdeen’s Aberdeen Pain Group.
Mr Marsh welcomed the launch of the EOPIC study, he said: “I’m very keen on seeing something done. I am sure there are methods out there that are more effective ways of treating pain, both from a health professional perspective and from the patient side who could be more involved in self managing pain.’ I would also really like more done specifically to get medical professionals to accept that pain is there and needs to be treated. It is a very difficult thing for doctors to handle.”
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