The Need and Impact of a Brief Educational Seminar on Pediatric Pain-focused CBT for School Providers

Abstract

Objectives: Pediatric chronic pain is common and can be detrimental to children’s social, emotional, and school functioning. Non-pharmacological approaches to chronic pain, like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be effective. Schools could provide children with chronic pain access to these interventions. However, school professionals (i.e. nurses and mental health providers) are seldom trained in CBT, creating a barrier to accessing such help. A seminar was created to introduce CBT strategies for chronic pediatric pain to school professionals. Feasibility, acceptability, and self-reported knowledge gain from the seminar were examined. Methods: Two introductory seminars (~2.5 hours each) were held separately for the Michigan Association of School Nurses and the Health Department of Northwest Michigan (n=71 total). The seminar provided an understanding of pain and pain-focused CBT strategies (e.g. activity pacing, positive self-statements, psychoeducation). Fifty-two school nurses, 16 mental health professionals, and three participants (unidentified title) rated program acceptability and self-reported knowledge of CBT before and after training (1=strongly disagree, 5=strongly agree). Results: 89.6% of respondents agreed the training was helpful, and 87.5% were interested in additional training. For all questions relating to knowledge of CBT, a mixed model interaction showed a meaningful, increase of at least one point (on a five-point Likert-scale), F(2, 69.83)=3.93, P=0.024. Discussion: This study underscores the feasibility and acceptability of training school health providers in CBT for pediatric chronic pain. This project also established key partnerships in Michigan to expand future work in this realm with more comprehensive training and assessment of outcomes.