BELIEFS AND EXPECTATIONS ABOUT CHRONIC MUSCULOSKELETAL PAIN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Background : A wide variety of practitioners with different belief systems and approaches treat chronic musculoskeletal pain. In trials of treatments for musculoskeletal pain the focus has tended to be on outcome rather than on understanding the process of care of these treatments. Gaining greater understanding of the process of care in consultations for chronic musculoskeletal pain may shed light on ways to improve patient care, as despite the range of options available many patients are still dissatisfied with their treatment. Aim : To undertake a systematic review to explore how the beliefs and expectations of patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain and their treating primary and community care practitioners / therapists influence the process of care Method : A comprehensive search strategy was developed. Databases including MEDLINE, PSYCHINFO, AMED, and MANTIS were searched by two members of the review group working independently. Two members of the group again working independently screened the title and abstract of each reference retrieved for inclusion. Studies were included if they Reported original research Explored patient’s or practitioners; beliefs and expectations, or both. Studied patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain, which does not have a known systemic, inflammatory or malignant origin treated in primary or community care. The full review group resolved disagreements. Full text articles meeting the inclusion criteria will be obtained and coded further into non-randomised studies, randomised studies and qualitative studies. Data abstraction forms will be developed for each type of study. Data abstraction will be undertaken by two members of the group working independently. Results : 12, 667 articles were identified from the searches of bibliographic databases. At the present time 10 papers have been identified for potential inclusion in the review. The number of full papers to be considered for the review will be reported in this presentation along with the methods for data abstraction and synthesis. This study is ongoing.