The ME Association has been asked to share details of this study with you, should anyone wish to take part in this research project.
Researchers at Teesside University are looking for people living with chronic pain (for 6 months or more) to complete a brief survey (less than 10 minutes) to give their opinion on what role a pain coach should serve in supporting people with chronic pain. If you do take part and are interested in giving a more detailed opinion you can subsequently choose to take part in an interview on the subject.
Coaching has become highly popular and tends to involve support that is more accessible than conventional healthcare appointments. However, this field is currently unregulated so this research aims to find out what people with lived experience
of pain would want from coaches in order to inform future training and regulation development.
To be able to take part though you must be:
- over 18 years of age
- able to speak and read English and communicate effectively in English
- able to provide informed consent
If you would like to know more about the research, please see all the information and links to the survey via the button below:
Any questions? Email: hello@paind.com
Alternatively, please contact one of the research associates: Dr Joseph Parsons joe@paind.com and Dr Rebecca Hunter: rebecca@paind.com or chief investigator Professor Cormac Ryan: c.ryan@tees.ac.uk
ME Association Comment
Dr Charles Shepherd, Honorary Medical Adviser to the ME Association says:
The ME Association hasn't received any feedback or comments on the use of pain coaches so far. So we suspect that very few people with ME/CFS have been referred to one.
However, as the researchers point out, the use of pain coaches is becoming more common and they are not being regulated in the way that other health professionals are.
So, please take part in this survey if you have pain as part of your ME/CFS and want to comment on what factors you believe need to be taken into consideration in relation to the training and regulation of pain coaches.
We fully appreciate that many people with ME/CFS have great difficulty in obtaining good medical management for their pain and that many health professionals appear to be unaware that the new NICE guideline on ME/CFS states that this should follow the recommendations in the NICE guideline on the management of neuropathic pain.
Link to the NICE guideline on neuropathic pain below:
The ME Association has the following information booklet on Pain Management.
Dr Charles Shepherd,
Trustee and Hon. Medical Adviser to the ME Association.
Member of the 2018-2021 NICE Guideline Committee.
Member of the 2002 Independent Working Group on ME/CFS.
