Pain management : a survey of psychologists and other health professionals in clinical practice

Abstract

A field study of Health Professionals in the Australian Capital Territory was undertaken using the survey method to investigate practitioner perspectives on a range of issues related to pain management. The researcher concluded from the results of this field study that the trend towards a multidisciplinary approach to pain management evident in the literature was endorsed in this study by practitioners in pain management. This study also found that the majority of health professionals in this study considered that pain clients would be reluctant to be referred to a psychologist. The researcher concluded from the results of this study that there was a perceived need for clients to be educated on the relationship between psychology and pain, and that there was also a need for other disciplines of health professionals to adequately explain a referral to a psychologist. Another finding from the results of this study was that members of all health professional disciplines involved in this study expressed the view that pain clients could benefit training.

Date of Award	1997
Original language	English