Chronic Pain Management and Adult Learning: towards a different understanding

Abstract

This thesis, 'Chronic Pain Management and Adult Learning: towards a different understanding', examines an Australian pain management program and the interrelationship of adult learning from a participant's perspective. It poses the following research questions: How does an adult learn to live with chronic pain? What is the role and effectiveness of adult learning in pain management programs? What is the value of self-directed learning in chronic pain management? And, concludes with recommendations to assist adults with chronic pain. This thesis utilises an autoethnographic collection method and a grounded theory analysis approach to provide a clearer understanding of how an adult learns to live with chronic neuropathic pain following incomplete spinal cord injury. Interviews, informal discourse, and diary entries provide the data. The main analytical strategy is to place the experiences of the subject at the centre of the analysis and to compare them with the literature. The findings reveal a need for appropriate recognition, assessment, treatment, and life-long education about pain, and for staff training in and utilisation of adult learning within a pain management program to break the chronic pain cycle. Moreover, the 'doorway' to chronic pain self-management may be self-directed learning, when other avenues fail. Further research may reveal how adult learning - especially self-directed learning, where individual needs are met and preferences are supported in a non-hierarchical, conducive environment - may facilitate better outcomes for those experiencing chronic pain.