Exploring radiographers' understanding of pain: an Australian survey study

Inadequate pain literacy among health practitioners has shown to negatively influence patient experiences and outcomes. While misunderstandings of pain are prevalent among many allied health and medical professions, the state of pain knowledge among radiographers is currently unknown. This study aimed to explore radiographers' conceptualisation of pain, determine radiographer exposure to pain education in their radiography training program, and determine radiographer confidence in their understanding of pain.

An online survey was distributed to radiographer members of the Australian Society of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy (ASMIRT). Pain-related knowledge, education and confidence were explored using the "Revised Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire" (RNPQ), Likert-scale, and qualitative short-answer questions. Clinical reasoning was explored using image analysis. Quantitative data was imported to Microsoft Excel and IBM SPSS Statistics™ and analysed using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. Qualitative data was thematically analysed using an inductive in-vivo coding approach.

Participants (n=228) scored an average of 6.57/12 (SD=2.11) on the RNPQ. Only 11.8% reported receiving previous pain education, though 75.4% reported feeling variably confident in their understanding (49.1% somewhat confident; 24.1% quite confident; 2.2% very confident). Thematic analysis revealed four key themes: self-reported uncertainty of pain neurophysiology, inaccurate pain understandings, contemporary pain understandings, and approaches to clinical reasoning.

Results indicate that evidence-based pain knowledge and education are lacking within the radiography profession. Primary recommendations for future research include: an exploration of patient pain experiences within imaging departments, an audit of radiography curricula, and the development of contextualised pain education for radiographers.

Poor pain literacy may negatively impact patient experiences, and a cultural shift in radiographers' conceptualisation of pain is required to align the profession's understanding with current evidence and recommendations.