The Pain Navigator Tool

 

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Talking to your doctor with the Navigator Tool

Chronic pain impacts more than just the body. We know that for people living with pain, raising concerns about wider aspects of health in appointments with their health-care professional is not always easy and their concerns and worries do not always feel relevant. Doctors can also find it difficult to introduce wider issues around pain during routine appointments. Our research shows how exploring wider aspects of pain can benefit people’s ability to self-manage their pain.

Material for healthcare professionals to make consultations more holistic and encourage self-management is already widely used (for example Realistic Medicine, Year of Care and House of Care) and Pain Concern has now developed a paper-based tool for patients to prepare themselves to bring up their concerns and worrries in appointments. Designed to help patients navigate their concerns and bring the most important questions up in primary care appointments, The Navigator Tool was trialled 2017-2018 with healthcare professionals and their chronic pain patients. To access the full Navigator Tool, please send a request to research@painconcern.org.uk. You can read a summary of the report here, the full report can be found here. There's a short video introduction here ….

 

 

 

 

                                                       ….. and loads of other videos on the Pain Concern website

 

 The most useful aspect of the tool was the My pain concerns form, as it identifies areas of living with pain that do not usually come up in routine consultations. We encourage people with pain, and healthcare professionals caring for people with pain, to use the form in appointments.

 

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                                                            If you are the person with pain, download My pain concerns form and instructions to your tablet, computer or print a paper copy.

                                                            HINT: How you feel about the statements may change from day-to-day; choose agree or disagree according to what you feel is                                                                    right now.

 

 

                                                            The form Questions to ask your health-care professional has some suggested questions that you might want to ask. You might                                                                    also have your own questions based on the concerns you have identified.

                                                            HINT: My pain concerns form and Questions to ask your health-care professional are colour-coded to make them easier to use                                                                    together.

                                                            If you are a healthcare professional you can give My pain concerns form and instructions to patients you think will benefit from                                                                  talking about these issues. Simply print out the form and instructions at your practice and give them to your patient to prepare                                                                  for the next appointment.