Abstract:

Chronic pain is a major contributor to work absence, reduced productivity, and long term disability. For healthcare trainees, understanding how pain affects work participation and how individuals can be supported to self manage chronic pain in employment settings is essential for person-centred practice. The Pain-at-Work Toolkit is a co-created web based resource offering evidence based guidance for employees living with chronic pain. Although designed for workplace use, it also provides a valuable research example for teaching about work and health, chronic pain self management, and communication approaches that empower people with chronic conditions.

This initiative integrated teaching on work and health, chronic pain self management in employment contexts, and critical discussion of the Pain-at-Work Toolkit across a broad spectrum of healthcare education (foundation, undergraduate, and postgraduate programmes). A research informed teaching approach was adopted to deepen trainees’ understanding of the links between pain, work, and wellbeing. Trainees’ disciplines spanned nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, sports rehabilitation, health psychology, occupational and management psychology, cognitive behavioural therapy, public health, behavioural medicine, and occupational health. Curriculum mapping demonstrated strong alignment with subject areas including settings based health promotion, public health, occupational health, health psychology, behaviour change, health communication, health inequalities, chronic condition self management, and person centred care. The Toolkit’s development process and evidence base anchored learning activities such as lectures and masterclasses, case based discussions, simulated consultations, reflective tasks, patient and public involvement (PPI) activities, and interprofessional workshops. Through engaging with the underlying research, trainees strengthened their critical appraisal skills, learned about PPI in research, and examined how co produced resources can shape practice in real world settings. Evaluation used a mixed methods design combining questionnaires (n=120 across programmes: 105 learners, 15 staff) with qualitative reflections. Quantitative items assessed confidence, perceived relevance, and self reported capability using Likert type scales, while qualitative data were thematically analysed to identify changes in understanding and application of concepts. Findings indicated that trainees became more confident in initiating conversations about work, developed a more nuanced understanding of health inequalities and biopsychosocial influences on pain related work participation, and increased their awareness of strategies that promote sustainable employment. Learners described gains such as improved ability to frame work focused questions sensitively, greater recognition of structural barriers affecting people with chronic pain, and clearer insight into how evidence based resources can support person centred communication. Educators reported enhanced interprofessional dialogue and a clearer pedagogical structure for addressing chronic pain, workplace wellbeing, and inequities in health.

This research‑informed educational innovation, centred on the Pain‑at‑Work Toolkit and its application to work and health, enriched learning, strengthened perceived interprofessional collaboration, and equipped future practitioners to support working-age people living with chronic pain.

Keywords:

Healthcare Education, Occupational Health, Technology, Chronic Pain, Research, Teaching, Problem-based Learning.