Empowerment of individuals with secondary chronic pain in an outpatient context: scoping review protocol

Abstract

Pain is one of the main reasons for care seeking and is considered a public health issue due to the suffering and disability associated with it. When it becomes chronic, it has a negative impact on the quality of life and can lead to depression. People are not adequately prepared for pain management, making it essential to empower them by increasing their ability to control their health, engage in care, and make informed choices. The interaction between the individual and the healthcare professional is crucial in this process.

Objective: To map the scientific evidence on the empowerment of individuals with secondary chronic pain in an outpatient context.

Materials and Methods: Scoping review, to be carried out according to the guidelines proposed by the Joanna Briggs Institute, defining the protocol according to the established criteria and suitability for the selected databases (MEDLINE, CINHAL, COCHRANE, SciELO, Scopus, Mediclatina) and grey literature (RCAAP, DART-Europe). Studies will be included, with no time limit, with adults with secondary chronic non-cancer pain, which relate to the concept of empowerment, in an outpatient setting. Two independent researchers will analyse the relevance of the articles and extract and summarise the data.

Presentation and interpretation of results: The data will be extracted into an evidence table aligned with the objective, followed by a subsequent narrative content analysis.

Conclusion: We hope to identify relevant studies on the empowerment of individuals with secondary chronic pain, recognizing the need for a systematic review or primary investigation in case there are knowledge gaps.