Impact of Biopsychosocial Pain Education on Physician Assistant Students' Pain Knowledge, Pain Attitudes, and Recommendations for Lower Back Pain

Abstract

Introduction Physician assistants treat patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain on a regular basis. This pilot study implemented a pain education module in the first semester of didactic training and evaluated changes in knowledge, attitudes, and recommendations for lower back pain. Methods The biopsychosocial pain education module, focused on the social, cultural, psychological, and biological complexities of pain and incorporated online training and in-person case based discussions. Students completed surveys on pain knowledge, attitudes, and recommendations for a case scenario before and after the module and at a one-year follow-up. Results Physician assistant students' pain attitudes and beliefs demonstrated statistically significant shifts toward a biopsychosocial perspective immediately after the educational module (P < 0.001) and at one-year follow-up compared with pretest levels (P = .034). Pain knowledge demonstrated statistically significant improvements immediately after the module (P = .006). At one-year follow-up, pain knowledge was not statistically significantly different from pretest levels (P = .530). Clinical recommendations for the case-based scenario trended toward increased agreement with clinical practice guideline recommendations after the module and persisted at the one-year follow-up. Discussion Implementing a pain education module with emphasis on the multidimensional nature of pain using a case-based approach can improve pain knowledge, attitudes, and recommendations for care.