Outpatient physiotherapists’ attitudes and beliefs toward patients with chronic pain: A qualitative study

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To conduct a knowledge translation exercise by sharing knowledge from a scoping review, describing physiotherapists’ attitudes toward and beliefs about chronic pain, and to gain perspectives on these findings from physiotherapists working with this clientele. Method: We conducted three focus groups with a total of 14 outpatient physiotherapists working in public hospitals. We first showed a video (reflecting an encounter between a clinician and a person living with chronic pain) created based on themes that emerged from a scoping review we conducted, followed by a discussion about attitudes and beliefs toward chronic pain. The sessions were audio-taped and transcripts were analyzed through descriptive and thematic analysis. Results: The consultations reinforced three core themes related to physiotherapists’ attitudes toward and beliefs about chronic pain: 1) the development of chronic pain; 2) the relationship to disability and the legitimacy of chronic pain; and 3) physiotherapists’ ability to manage psychological aspects of their patient’s pain. Conclusion: Physiotherapists in our sample appear unsure of how to interpret severe pain within the context of minimal objective findings. Physiotherapists may benefit from training on how to assess and treat psychosocial factors associated with pain.

KEYWORDS:

• Physiotherapy
• attitudes
• beliefs
• chronic pain
• qualitative research

Acknowledgments

The video was developed in collaboration with Maude Laliberté (collaborator and PhD student at Université de Montréal) and Ky Vy Le Duc, film director and film editor. We would like to thank Tatiana Orozco, physiotherapy student at Université de Montréal, for taking notes during focus groups. The French version of the video was funded by the Axe éthique en santé des populations (AÉSP) which made the video available on its electronic platform (http://ethiquesantepop.ca/) for dissemination. English subtitles were added to the French version of the video with additional funding received by Edith Strauss Rehabilitation Research Project Grant provided by Richard and Edith Strauss Canada Foundation. The rest of the project was also funded by Edith Strauss Rehabilitation Research Project Grant.

Declaration of Interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

The French version of the video was funded by the Axe éthique en santé des populations (AÉSP). English subtitles were added to the French version of the video with additional funding received by Edith Strauss Rehabilitation Research Project Grant provided by Richard and Edith Strauss Canada Foundation. The rest of the project was also funded by Edith Strauss Rehabilitation Research Project Grant.