Development and Evaluation of an Educational Program for the Management of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

NCT ID: NCT06653114

Last Updated: 2025-03-19

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 70 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-10-19
• Study Completion Date: 2025-01-11

Brief Summary

A controlled randomized study will be conducted to assess the effectiveness of the educational program before and after its implementation. An invitation to participate will be extended to physiotherapists interested in the training program. More than 64 physiotherapists will be randomly assigned to two equal groups. All participants will sign an informed consent form before the commencement of the study and will be informed about the study's content, duration, and their right to withdraw at any time. A structured educational program consisting of two parts will be developed, encompassing three core modules (Part A) on the management of chronic pain and three core modules (Part B) on communication skills and techniques. The modules in Part A of the educational program will focus on elucidating the neurophysiological mechanisms of pain, performing differential assessments based on chronic musculoskeletal pain phenotypes, and addressing and managing the factors contributing to patients' pain experiences and rehabilitation, with a particular emphasis on pain neuroscience education. The modules in Part B of the educational program will concentrate on the development of communication skills essential for effective interaction between patients and physiotherapists. The first group will complete all modules of the educational program, while the second group (control group) will only participate in the Part A education modules. The effectiveness of the program will be evaluated before and after its implementation by two independent examiners through the administration of an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and the use of reliable and valid questionnaires and scales.

Detailed Description

A controlled randomized study will be conducted to assess the effectiveness of the educational program before and after its implementation. An invitation to participate will be extended to physiotherapists interested in the training program. More than 64 physiotherapists will be randomly assigned to two equal groups. All participants will sign an informed consent form before the commencement of the study and will be informed about the study's content, duration, and their right to withdraw at any time. A structured educational program consisting of two parts will be developed, encompassing three core modules (Part A) on the management of chronic pain and three core modules (Part B) on communication skills and techniques. The modules in Part A of the educational program will focus on elucidating the neurophysiological mechanisms of pain, performing differential assessments based on chronic musculoskeletal pain phenotypes, and addressing and managing the factors contributing to patients' pain experiences and rehabilitation, with a particular emphasis on pain neuroscience education. The modules in Part B of the educational program will concentrate on the development of communication skills essential for effective interaction between patients and physiotherapists. The first group will complete all modules of the educational program, while the second group (control group) will only participate in the Part A education modules. The effectiveness of the program will be evaluated before and after its implementation by two independent examiners through the administration of an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and the use of reliable and valid questionnaires/scales. Upon completion of the program and its evaluation, participants in the control group will have the opportunity to complete the communication skills training as well.

Conditions

Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain; Clinical Communication

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain + Communication skills

Participants will complete both parts of the educational program (assessment and management of chronic musculoskeletal pain and development of communication skills).

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Education in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

Intervention Type: OTHER

Improving Knowledge and Skills in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain (Assessment and Management)

Education in Communication Skills

Intervention Type: OTHER

Developing Communication Skills (Empathy, Motivational Interviewing, Shared Decision-making)

Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

Participants will complete only the management of chronic musculoskeletal pain portion of the educational program.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Education in Communication Skills

Intervention Type: OTHER

Developing Communication Skills (Empathy, Motivational Interviewing, Shared Decision-making)

Interventions

Education in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

Improving Knowledge and Skills in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain (Assessment and Management)

Intervention Type: OTHER

Education in Communication Skills

Developing Communication Skills (Empathy, Motivational Interviewing, Shared Decision-making)

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Physiotherapists registered with the Panhellenic Association of Physiotherapists
• >2 years of clinical experience with chronic musculoskeletal patients

Exclusion Criteria

• Participants who have attended any educational program or seminar related to pain education, pain neuroscience education, or a training program related to improving communication skills lasting more than 6 hours

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 65 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

University of Thessaly

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Konstantina Savvoulidou

PhD Student

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Eleni V Kapreli, Prof

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

University of Thessaly

Locations

University of Thessaly

Lamia, , Greece

Countries

Greece

Other Identifiers

12

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id