Relationship Between Student Physical Therapist Pain Knowledge, Beliefs, and Self-efficacy Assessing and Treating Pain

Chronic pain is a debilitating condition that affects a large percentage of the population. According to recent studies, chronic pain management is best treated using a biopsychosocial (BPS) non-pharmacological approach rather than a biomedical (BM) approach. Student Physical Therapists (SPTs) trained in a BPS approach have different beliefs about pain than those trained in the BM approach. Beliefs about pain are related to pain knowledge and self-efficacy for treating pain patients. To date, no study has examined these three variables together or explored differences in BM versus BPS beliefs in relationship to the other two variables. Guided by social cognitive theory, the proposed quantitative, cross-sectional study investigated whether SPT higher pain knowledge and self-efficacy are related more to BPS beliefs than BM beliefs and explored whether SPT pain beliefs mediated the relationship between SPT pain knowledge and self-efficacy. The proposed study used archival data collected by the college for curriculum improvement purposes, and it consisted of a survey administered to approximately 252 SPTs. A correlation was found between SPT BPS beliefs, pain knowledge, and self-efficacy, but there was no mediation between pain knowledge and self-efficacy by way of BPS beliefs. This study confirmed the importance of all three variables in changing the clinical behaviors of future physical therapists when assessing and treating chronic pain patients. Future studies should focus on what factors bolster SPT self-efficacy to enhance adherence to evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, which may, in turn, create positive social change.