In the latest episode of "Pain Matters"  Professor Lorimer Moseley, accompanied by Bart van Buchem, a pain specialist physiotherapist, welcomes back guest Brian Pulling. They delve into a research paper focused on developing a scale to understand how individuals with painful arthritis perceive their situation, pain, disease, and prognosis.

The conversation takes an intriguing turn towards a new study involving network analysis, a cutting-edge method in psychometrics. Brian explains that network analysis examines relationships between different questionnaire items, aiming to understand how people conceptualize and understand osteoarthritic knee pain.

The significance of network analysis in psychometrics is emphasized, with Brian highlighting its potential to provide more nuanced and comprehensive insights compared to traditional questionnaire-based assessments. The ultimate goal is to create a framework that allows clinicians to individualize educational curricula for patients based on their existing knowledge and beliefs.

The discussion touches on the limitations of traditional pain assessment methods, such as asking individuals to rate their pain on a scale of 0 to 10. Brian emphasises the complexity of pain and the need for a more sophisticated approach to capture the multifaceted nature of individuals' experiences with pain.

Looking ahead, Brian discusses the evolving nature of network analysis in pain science education and its potential to revolutionise how clinicians tailor educational interventions. The conversation hints at the possibility of a more efficient and targeted approach to address conceptual barriers to recovery through identifying key elements in patients' understanding of pain.

Brian Pulling is a PhD candidate in health science in the Persistent Pain Research Group at the University of South Australia with a focus on educational theory and innovative psychometrics. His research aims to improve treatments for persistent pain by giving researchers and clinicians more comprehensive assessment tools to understand how people think about their own health. His work uses complex data models such as network analysis. Brian's most recent publication is available here, and presents the first of several phases in the development of a new questionnaire about how people conceptualise osteoarthritis [https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286114].

You can get in touch with Brian at [email protected]