Overview
Chronic pain frequently exists in conjunction with other conditions such as chronic diseases, mental health issues, and substance use health concerns. In addition, people living with chronic pain may be disproportionately impacted by trauma, violence, poverty, homelessness, and language and cultural barriers, all of which can affect/limit access to safe and equitable health care.
People living with pain in marginalized conditions face barriers to accessing multi-disciplinary programs that provide the supports required to address pain. Offering health care services that are accessible, non-stigmatizing, trauma and violence-informed and patient-centred is not only best practice, but also provides people who experience marginalization with equal opportunities to learn more about managing pain and improving wellbeing.
About the program
Making Sense of Pain is a self-management program designed for people with pain who experience marginalization and face barriers to accessing care.
The Making Sense of Pain program is held over a span of nine to ten weeks and is led by a trained facilitator. Facilitators provide participants with opportunities to learn about pain, the various factors that can cause or make pain worse, and simple strategies that can help participants better manage pain in everyday life. Attendance at all sessions is encouraged, but not required. Participants may also drop in. Accessibility is a key component of Making Sense of Pain: food/drinks are provided and travel and childcare subsidies, along with ASL interpretation, are available by request.
Pain BC would like to partner with interested health authorities, non-profit organizations, Indigenous communities, addictions services, or pain support groups to hold these class series in locations where there is an established need. If you are interested in offering this program in your area, please read below for more detail on becoming a site.
Outcomes
By participating in this nine-to-ten-week program, we intend for participants to:
- Learn about pain and its effects on emotional, social, physical and spiritual health.
- Increase knowledge about pain science including how the brain and body respond before, during, and after painful events.
- Increase knowledge of skills and strategies used to help manage pain.
- Increase knowledge of skills and strategies used to accept and understand their pain.
- Find useful community resources, including Pain BC resources.
- Feel less alone with their pain.
Program structure and topics
Each session is 2 hours long with 1.5 hours dedicated to group work, and 30 minutes for social time. The Making Sense of Pain curriculum is designed to be flexible, and we encourage facilitators to adapt the content to the needs of their group.
Topics (can be presented in any order):
- Session 1: Introductions and the biopsychosocial model of pain
- Session 2: Pain science
- Session 3: Stress & stress management
- Session 4: Movement
- Session 5: Sleep and mood
- Session 6: Social support and communication
- Session 7: Nutrition
- Session 8: Grief & loss
- Session 9: Self-talk & self-compassion
- Session 10: Wrap-up (Optional)
Role of the site
The site will commit to offering at least three Making Sense of Pain program cohorts. The second cohort must begin within one year of the end date of the first cohort, and the third cohort must begin within one year of the end date of the second cohort. The site will be responsible for:
- Providing a comfortable meeting space for the group (if in person)
- Recruiting facilitators (Pain BC will fund up to one facilitator for each of the first two cohorts)
- Ensuring facilitators successfully pass Pain BC’s online facilitator training course
- Recruiting participants and identifying those who need accessibility subsidies (e.g. transit passes, gas cards, taxi vouchers, reimbursement for childcare) to attend sessions
- Disbursing and maintaining records of accessibility subsidies (funding provided by Pain BC for the first two cohorts)
- Purchasing refreshments (or grocery gift cards for online programs) for each session (funding provided by Pain BC for the first two cohorts)
- Organizing and facilitating weekly sessions (each session is 2 hours long)
- Participating in the evaluation of the program
- Communicating the program’s status at regular intervals to the Pain BC team
Role of Pain BC
Pain BC will be responsible for providing the site with the following resources:
- The program curriculum
- Training for facilitators
- Promotional material used to recruit participants to the group
- Evaluation tools and processes
- Maintaining an online Facilitator Dashboard to provide easy access to resources for facilitators
- Facilitating quarterly MSOP Facilitator Community of Practice meetings
- Full reimbursement of approved expenditures for the first two cohorts of the program as follows:
- Up to $1,000 for printing and delivery costs,
- Up to $1,200 to cover wages for the facilitator to successfully pass the 10-12 hour online facilitator training course,
- Up to $3,100 to cover facilitator wages to deliver the program (up to 1 hour of preparation time per session, 2 hours of delivery time per session, and up to 1 hour for participation in program evaluation),
- Up to $1,500 for refreshments for in-person program participants, or gift cards for online program participants,
- Up to $1,000 for accessibility subsidies for participants, to assist with costs such as transportation and childcare for those who would not otherwise be able to attend sessions.
- Reimbursement of up to $500 in approved expenditures for the next three cohorts offered by a site
Background and training requirements for facilitators
Facilitators for the Making Sense of Pain program can be from a wide variety of clinical health care backgrounds such as nursing, social work, psychology, counselling, occupational therapy, mental health, and addiction.
Additionally, it is desirable for facilitators to:
- Be experienced in providing trauma and violence informed care
- Have experience with group facilitation
- Possess a deep understanding of the needs, challenges and strengths of the target patient population
- Have an interest in chronic pain
Pain BC will provide training in the program curriculum and provide resources to help facilitators understand basic assessment and treatment approaches to chronic pain.
Additional support available for Indigenous sites
Sites that serve Indigenous communities are eligible for up to $10,000 in additional funding to culturally tailor their program.
Background and training requirements for facilitators
Facilitators for the Making Sense of Pain program can be from a wide variety of clinical health care backgrounds such as nursing, social work, psychology, counselling, occupational therapy, mental health, and addiction.
Additionally, it is desirable for facilitators to:
- Be experienced in providing trauma and violence informed care
- Have experience with group facilitation
- Possess a deep understanding of the needs, challenges and strengths of the target patient population
- Have an interest in chronic pain
Pain BC will provide training in the program curriculum and provide resources to help facilitators understand basic assessment and treatment approaches to chronic pain.
Who do I contact to discuss becoming a site?
If you represent a not-for-profit or government organization and would like more information on setting up Making Sense of Pain, please complete our site application form here:
Funding for this program is provided by the Government of B.C.