Why should we assess and promote the decision-making autonomy of patients suffering from chronic pain? A perspective

Chronic pain exerts an enormous personal and economic burden, affecting around 30% of people worldwide yet both patients and providers report low satisfaction with chronic pain care. One of the potential causes stems from insufficient decision-making autonomy in chronic pain patients that hampers their ability to properly get involved in their treatment regimen. Improving said autonomy should thus allow better management in the clinical setting.

Via a conceptual and philosophical exploration informed by targeted literature, this Perspective examines the role of decision‑making autonomy in the care of patients living with chronic pain, a specific subject that is scarcely addressed in the literature.

In chronic pain, patient autonomy is not only an ethical principle to be respected, but also a competence to foster. Promoting decision-making autonomy can improve pain management by fostering necessary patient empowerment and better involvement in one's treatment regimen.

Concepts and specific tools exist that can help clinicians better evaluate and promote patient decision-making autonomy in their pain practice. Future avenues for research are suggested to help ensure that autonomy is better assessed in the clinical setting.