The Pain Management Research Institute has been leading the way in the science and treatment of pain since 1990.
Chronic pain is a major and increasing public health issue and affects one in five people in Australia with more than 68% of people living with chronic pain of working age. Pain Management Research Institute (PMRI) is a Research Centre of the Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney and a Centre of the Kolling Institute of Medical Research, a joint initiative between the University and Northern Sydney Local Health District. A national consortium, led by Professor Michael Nicholas at the Pain Management Research Institute, University of Sydney is developing interdisciplinary digital pain education to support the emerging, current and future health workforce and improve the lives of patients with chronic pain.
The purpose of the interdisciplinary digital pain education is to develop a nationally consistent and integrated approach to the management of people with chronic pain.
A patient care priorities framework (Listen to me, Learn from me) was developed to shape the interdisciplinary digital pain education. Their peer-reviewed paper about the framework has been published in PAIN, Journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), a leading journal devoted to pain medicine and research. The interdisciplinary digital pain education will be piloted with design experts, health care professionals, consumer organisation representatives and key stakeholders in 2023.
Projects and discoveries underway
Supporting the Online Pain Education Network Clinical Pain Management Education Training Program to improve chronic pain care across Australia. This eLearning initiative enhances healthcare professionals' knowledge, confidence and skills in non-drug, person-centred pain management approaches.