Physiotherapist beliefs and perspectives on virtual reality supported rehabilitation for the management of musculoskeletal shoulder pain: A focus group study

Background Virtual Reality (VR) is an immersive computer-generated environment that provides a multi-sensory experience for the user. Modern technology allows the user to explore and interact with the virtual environment, offering opportunities for rehabilitation. The use of immersive VR in the management of musculoskeletal shoulder pain is relatively new and research is equired to demonstrate its feasibility and effectiveness in this field. Aim The aims of this study were, firstly, to explore physiotherapists’ beliefs and perspectives of immersive VR as a platform for rehabilitation in patients with musculoskeletal shoulder pain, secondly, to identify potential barriers and facilitators to using VR in a musculoskeletal setting and thirdly, to gain insight from clinicians that would inform the development of a VR intervention for the rehabilitation of musculoskeletal shoulder pain. Methods This study used qualitative descriptive design methodology. A series of three focus group interviews were carried out, via Microsoft Teams. Physiotherapists received an Oculus Quest™ headset to use at home prior to the focus group interviews. A six-phase process of reflexive thematic analysis was carried out to identify themes within the data. Atlas Ti Qualitative Data Analysis software was used to facilitate thematic analysis. Results Five themes were identified within the data. They reflected physiotherapists beliefs that VR provides novel opportunities for shoulder rehabilitation and may offer new avenues for managing movement-related fear and improving concordance with rehabilitation. However, barriers related to safety and practical considerations associated with using VR were also identified in the final themes. Conclusion These findings provide valuable insight into clinician acceptability of immersive VR as a plat-form for rehabilitation and the need for further research to answer the questions posed by physiotherapists in the current study. This research will contribute to human-centered design of VR-supported interventions for managing musculoskeletal shoulder pain. </p

International, multi-disciplinary, cross-section study of pain knowledge and attitudes in nursing, midwifery and allied health professions students

Background: Persistent pain is a highly prevalent, global cause of disability. Research suggests that many healthcare professionals are not well equipped to manage pain, and this may be attributable at least in part to undergraduate education. The primary aim of this study was to quantify and compare frst and fnal year nursing, midwifery and allied health professional (NMAHP) students’ pain related knowledge and attitudes. The secondary aim was to explore what factors infuence students’ pain related knowledge and attitudes.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1154 frst and fnal year healthcare students, from 12 universities in fve diferent countries completed the Revised Neurophysiology of Pain Quiz (RNPQ) [knowledge] and the Health Care Providers Pain and Impairment Relationship Scale (HC-PAIRS) [attitudes].Results: Physiotherapy was the only student group with statistically and clinically improved pain related knowledge [mean diference, 95% CI] (3.4, 3.0 to 3.9, p=0.01) and attitudes (-17.2, -19.2 to 15.2, p=0.01) between frst and fnal year. Pain education teaching varied considerably from course to course (0 to 40 h), with greater levels of pain related knowledge and attitudes associated with higher volumes of pain specifc teaching.Conclusions: There was little diference in pain knowledge and attitudes between all frst and fnal year NMAHP students other than physiotherapy. This suggests that for most NMAHP disciplines, undergraduate teaching has little or no impact on students’ understanding of pain. There is an urgent need to enhance pain education provision at the undergraduate level in NMAHPs.</p