Reference no: EM133846348

Question

Chronic pain is a common problem and a challenge to treat effectively. It is estimated that chronic pain affects 116 million adults in the U.S. population (Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2011) and is the most common reason for seeking health care (Daubresse et al., 2013). Chronic pain is best treated using a multimodal interdisciplinary approach, which may include both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic self-management interventions (Tompkins, Hobelmann, and Compton, 2017). Disparities may exist in the management of chronic pain in rural communities because of lack of access to primary care providers (PCPs) who have had formal training in chronic pain management. As a result, rural residents may rely solely on PCPs who are often less prepared to manage chronic pain using self-management interventions (Mezei & Murinson, 2011). Moreover, rural residents have a higher likelihood of being prescribed an opioid analgesic compared with nonrural residents (Prunuske et al., 2014). Although self-management interventions are an important part of managing chronic pain, it is unknown to what extent rural residents currently use these interventions compared with nonrural residents.