Local Pain Collectives: A Novel Strategy for Improving Pain Knowledge, Pain Care and Community Connectedness in Rural Settings

OBJECTIVE: To present key discussion points from a workshop where attendees reflected on personal and professional development achievements gained through their involvement in Pain Revolution's 'Local Pain Collectives' program. DESIGN: Reflexive thematic analysis of notes written by workshop attendees and key points discussed during workshop activities. SETTING: An in-person workshop was held in Melbourne, Victoria. PARTICIPANTS: A cohort of Pain Revolution Local Pain Collective facilitators, their mentors and Pain Revolution's executive team. RESULTS: Twenty-eight meeting attendees (19 facilitators, six mentors and three executive team members). Facilitators reported gaining increased knowledge of contemporary pain science, greater confidence communicating with other healthcare providers and improved interactions with their patients. Further, they related that their local collective members reported similar improvements in their understanding of pain and their patient interactions. They described that their collectives enabled new professional connections, enhanced a sense of belonging to a community of like-minded healthcare providers and increased collaborative pain care in their communities. CONCLUSIONS: The increased connection, sense of belonging to a community of like-minded healthcare providers, and formation of collaborative care networks are all important program impacts given the lack of existing literature regarding interventions targeting professional isolation.