Year: 2023
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Background: Chronic pain is a long-term condition with a considerable impact on health, emotional and cognitive functioning. Cognitive Behavioural therapy (CBT) is the most commonly applied psychological approach to chronic pain, often delivered as part of a pain management programme to support individuals to self-manage pain. Little is known about who might benefit most from CBT for chronic pain, or to what extent cognitive complaints impact on self=management of pain. Methods: A systematic review examined the predictors of outcomes in CBT for chronic pain. A cross-sectional survey then investigated the extent to which subjective cognitive symptoms predict chronic pain self-management after controlling for sociodemographic, pain and mood variables. The survey was completed by 286 people experiencing chronic pain who were recruited from NHS services and social media. Results: The systematic review identified 18 randomised control or cohort studies. A narrative synthesis identified baseline sociodemographic, physical and emotional factors that influence the outcomes of CBT for pain. The most commonly reported predictors of outcome were anxiety, depression and negative cognitions about pain. The survey found mood accounted for the most variance in self-management and that, whilst it accounted for only a small amount of variance, subjective executive functioning was a significant predictor of self-management. Conclusions: Future research is needed to identify the predictive factors which influence treatment outcomes in chronic pain. Significant associations were found between sociodemographic, mood variables and subjective executive functioning with pain self-management, suggesting potential benefits for the screening of subjective cognitive complaints in clinical practice.
Author: Forden, Georgina
Language: English
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7055324715