Evaluation of the effectiveness of a chronic pain management programme

Thirty-two chronic pain patients classified as dysfunctional (N=15); interpersonally distressed (N=9); or adaptive copers (N=8) on the West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory were evaluated before and after a 3.5 week outpatient multimodal chronic pain management programme. Five patients also participated in a post-treatment focus group in which they gave accounts of their experiences of the programme. The three groups, which were demographically similar, did not differ in their response to the programme. There was an overall significant reduction (p<.01) in mean depression scores on the Beck Depression Inventory and a near significant reduction (p<.08) in mean scores on the functional limitations subscale of the Functional Limitations Profile when pre- and post-treatment scores were compared. There was no significant reduction in McGill Pain Questionnaire scores. A thematic content analysis of the focus group transcript showed that patients experienced the programme as improving their mood, their capacity to cope with pain and their interpersonal adjustment. Both formal features of the programme such as education and physiotherapy and informal aspects of the programme such as social support from other participants were perceived as contributing to improvement.