Level of knowledge about chronic pain of health personnel of primary care: A cross-sectional study
Chronic Pain; Neurophysiology; Public Health; Health Personnel.
Introduction: Chronic pain has no apparent biological value and persists, in most cases, for a period longer than three months, and can be highly disabling. This brings impacts on labor productivity, loss of tax revenue and large expenses arising from disability. Persistent pain is also responsible for being one of the biggest reasons for seeking primary care. However, despite the high prevalence in the population and the impact it represents, there is a shortage of professionals adequately qualified in pain management. Objective: To identify the level of knowledge about persistent pain of health professionals working in primary care in the city of Paulista. Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study, following the STROBE recommendations. Professionals with complete higher education who perform their activities in the primary care of the municipality will participate in the study. The level of knowledge in pain neurophysiology will be assessed using the Pain Neurophysiology Questionnaire (NPQ). The NPQ is a self-administered instrument that contains 12 closed-ended questions with answer options: true, false or undecided. Expected results: With this research, it is expected to draw a profile of the level of knowledge of primary care professionals about pain. From this, it will be possible to direct the need for training for these professionals.