Feasibility of a New Approach for Pain Assessment and Management in Primary Care211 Practices. Abstract, Executive Summary and Final Report

摘要

Pain is an extremely common symptom presented to primary care physicians and211u001eaccounts for significant suffering on the part of patients and increasing rates 211u001eof disability and health care utilization. The primary objective of this project 211u001ewas to design the best, most effectient rapid assessment and management approach 211u001efor pain in busy community practice settings by developing an intervention model 211u001ethat utilizes the Dartmouth COOP Clinical Improvement System and a telephone-211u001ebased, Nurse-Educator Intervention. Adult patients from four primary care 211u001epractices in rural New Hampshire and Vermont were screened for the presence of 211u001epain and randomly assigned to intervention or control groups. The intervention 211u001econsisted of two levels; (1) patients with pain who did not endorse psychosocial 211u001eproblems on the Dartmouth Improve Your Health Questionnaire received the 211u001eDartmouth COOP Clinical Improvement System and (2) patients who reported pain 211u001eplus psychosocial problems received the Clinical Improvement System and the Nurse-211u001eEducator Intervention.