Researchers seek participants for survey on pain

Falak Zaman has already completed the survey

Young Australians with long-term pain – and those who support them – have an opportunity to help shape future pain research.

Child health researchers at Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) have launched a short survey to gain insights into the experiences of those living with ongoing pain, including things they would like to see studied.

The survey is part of the ACORN pain project and should take no more than 2 to 3 minutes to complete. It is open to:

• young people aged 6 to 24 years with chronic pain
• parents and carers
• clinicians who support children with pain.

Falak Zaman, a second year Bachelor of Science (Health Science) student, has lived with pain for as long as she can remember so has already completed the survey.

The 20-year-old, who also volunteers at PCH in her spare time, experiences shoulder, arm and foot pain due to muscle stiffness caused by cerebral palsy (CP).

While painkillers, botox and other injections help temper her discomfort and assist with other complications of her CP such as stuttering and loss of balance, they do not eliminate the pain entirely, affecting her ability to concentrate and perform day-to-day activities.

Falak plans to pursue a career in research herself. In the meantime she has joined the PCH research team on the ACORN pain project.

Her hopes for future research? ‘I would like to see research that leads to a more personalised approach to managing pain. We need to understand why 2 people with the same injury or illness can have completely different pain outcomes. This will enable us to develop tests that match individuals with the right treatment from the start.’

Falak would also like to see a greater focus on pain care for marginalised groups, to close the equity gap in pain care.

The ACORN research team will use responses from the survey to shape the agenda for a follow-up online forum, further refining the direction of pain research.