Pain Neuroscience Education for Occupational Therapy Students: An Exploratory Online and In-Person Multi-Site Study

Authors: Richardson K*, Thacker J, Louw A, Kittelson J, Rico D, Bruzzone H and Rebne E

DOI: 10.23880/aphot-16000276

Volume 7, Issue 4

Abstract

Background: Educating occupational therapy (OT) students in pain science is essential to align with biopsychosocial treatment models and multidisciplinary approaches. This knowledge equips them to tackle the pain and opioid epidemic in clinical practice. This study aimed to evaluate if a pain neuroscience education (PNE) lecture for OT students produced immediate positive shifts and whether these changes correlated with those observed in physical therapy and physician assistant students. Methods: This case series involved 120 OT students from four United States (US) schools who participated in a two-hour PNE lecture, delivered in-person or online. Pre- and post-lecture assessments included the revised neurophysiology of pain questionnaire (rNPQ), Likert Scale questions on pain beliefs, and the pain attitudes and beliefs scale (biomedical) PABS-BM and pain attitudes and beliefs scale (biopsychosocial) PABS-BPS to evaluate changes in pain knowledge and attitudes. Results: Data collected from 120 OT students enrolled in four entry-level OTD programs yielded significant changes in rNPQ (p

Keywords: Neuroscience; Pain; Education; Occupational Therapy; Curriculum

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