Adaptations to pain rehabilitation programmes for non-native patients with chronic pain

(i) To determine whether adaptations for non-native patients have been implemented in pain rehabilitation programmes; (ii) to determine whether characteristics of the rehabilitation institute are related to having adaptations for non-native patients in place.

Rehabilitation institutes and rehabilitation departments of general hospitals in The Netherlands who offer a pain rehabilitation programme.

A questionnaire was handed over in person or by e-mail to the rehabilitation physicians of the participating institutes. Twenty-seven (90%) questionnaires were returned. The questionnaire concerned programme adaptations and institute characteristics. The data were analysed by χ(2) tests or Fischer's exact tests and logistic regression analysis.

Twelve institutes (44.4%) reported having adaptations in place for non-native patients in their pain rehabilitation programme. The most common adaptations were as follows: increased number of consultations (25.9% of the institutes); longer consultations (25.9%) and education for employees regarding cultural competency (11.1%). Institutes which treated a high percentage (≥11%) of non-native patients had implemented significantly more frequently adaptations to their rehabilitation programme (p = 0.04). The number of adaptations was neither associated with the proportion of non-native citizens in the local population nor with the number of the institutes' employees.

Less than half of the institutes had implemented one or more programme adaptations for non-native patients. Institutes which had made adaptations to their rehabilitation programme treated more non-native patients.