Effects of Pain Neuroscience Education on Physician Assistant Students Understanding of Pain and Attitudes and Beliefs About Pain

Abstract

Purpose: Evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of two different pain neuroscience education (PNE) lectures provided to physician assistant (PA) students. Primary outcomes explored were knowledge of pain and shift in attitudes and beliefs about chronic pain after the lecture.

Methods: A PNE lecture was provided at two separate university PA programs. One program received a two-hour PNE lecture with a case-based example. The other program received a one-hour PNE lecture without the casebased example. Measurement of change for pre and post-test pain knowledge and attitudes and beliefs about chronic pain were recorded.

Results: Students at both universities showed medium effect size improvements in pain knowledge following the lecture. Only students that received the longer two-hour lecture in the case-based example showed significant improvements with their attitudes and beliefs about patients with chronic pain.

Conclusion: PA students can increase their knowledge about current pain science through lecture alone, however, case-based learning along with lecture, may be more effective in improving the attitudes and beliefs of PA students regarding patients with chronic pain.