Primary Care Professionals' knowledge on the neurophysiology of pain: a cross-sectional study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5433/1679-0367.2025v46n1p3Keywords:
Pain, Neurosciences, Education, Public health professionalAbstract
Objective: To describe the level of knowledge about pain neurophysiology among different categories of professionals working in Primary Health Care (PHC). Material and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, of type descriptive, that followed the recommendations of Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE). This study involving health professionals with a completed higher education degree working in PHC. The participating professionals completed a form for sample characterization and the Pain Neurophysiology Questionnaire (PNQ).
Results: A total of 99 PHC professionals were included, with a mean age of 37.04 ± 8.64 years. The majority of participants were female (76.8%), and the most frequent professional category was nursing (40.4%). A total of 77.8% of the sample had a low level of knowledge about pain neurophysiology (<75% correct answers on the PNQ). Most participants had not attended pain-related training courses.
Conclusion: The data presented suggests that the participants in this study have gaps in their knowledge about pain neurophysiology. These findings may reflect inadequate training in pain management and indicate the need for investment in the training of professionals working in primary care, with an emphasis on education in neuroscience regarding pain, as it is at this level of care that users are received, and actions for health promotion and prevention of health problems.
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