Results Quantitative Results revealed that 65.4% of participants rated session content as ‘very good’ (5), 48% rated the speed as ‘very good’ (5) and 71% rated usefulness as ‘very good’ (5). See Table 1 below. Table 1: Percentage Rating of Content, Speed and Usefulness of the Family & Friends Session Qualitative Most useful aspects covered included understanding self- management approaches to CP(42.2%), communication techniques (22.8%) and having a family member present (13.3%) Least useful themes were the group setting (28.6%), understanding of self-management approaches to CP (28.6%) and session length being too short (16.7%) References 1 National Pain Audit (2012). Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership & Dr Foster Intelligence, London. Retrieved February 2015 from 2 Brown, G., Monk, E., Carstairs, G. M., & Wing, J. (1962). Influence of family life on the course of schizophrenic illness. British Journal of Preventive and Social Medicine, 16, 55–68; 3 Hammen, C. (1991). Generation of stress in the course of unipolar depression. Journal of abnormal psychology, 100(4), 555; 4 West, C., Usher, K., Foster, K., & Stewart, L. (2012). Chronic pain and the family: the experience of the partners of people living with chronic pain. Journal of clinical nursing, 21(23-24), ; 5 Miller, L. R., Cano, A., & Wurm, L. H. (2013). A motivational therapeutic assessment improves pain, mood, and relationship satisfaction in couples with chronic pain. The Journal of Pain, 14(5), ; 6 Forsythe, L. P., Romano, J. M., Jensen, M. P., & Thorn, B. E. (2012). Attachment style is associated with perceived spouse responses and pain-related outcomes. Rehabilitation psychology, 57(4), 290; 7 Leonard, M. T., & Cano, A. (2006). Pain affects spouses too: Personal experience with pain and catastrophizing as correlates of spouse distress. Pain, 126(1), Brooks, J., McCluskey, S., King, N., & Burton, K. (2013). Illness perceptions in the context of differing work participation outcomes: exploring the influence of significant others in persistent back pain. BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 14(1), 48. Acknowledgement Thank you to all members of the PMP team at the Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust. F&F Session Quotes “It will help my relationship with my friend to assist openness” - friend “Helping my partner see my perspective and seeing hers” - PMP member “Understanding and being aware of what friends and family think and feel” - unspecified “Finding out how our partners really feel about living with pain; I did not realise how bad it had affected both me and my husband” - PMP member “We were able to talk about how I feel about our situation” - family member “It made me realise that maybe I could be more honest in communication” - PMP member “I learnt about the impact of pain on my partner, myself and our relationship” - family member “By listening to others I have learnt a lot of new ways for myself and my husband to cope with day to day life” - family member A Service Evaluation of Friends & Family Participation in a Tertiary Level Pain Management Programme Lucinda Mawdsley 1* & Hannah Twiddy 1 1 Pain Management Programme, The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK. Content (%) n= 176 Speed (%) n= 175 Usefulness (%) n= 176 Very Poor (1) 000 Poor (2) 000 Okay (3) Good (4) Very Good (5) Figure 2: Bar Chart Showing “Most Useful” Aspects of the F&F Sessions Figure 3: Bar Chart Showing “Least Useful” Aspects of the F&F Sessions Most Useful Aspects of the F&F Session Percentage rating Least Useful Aspects of the F&F Session Understanding self-management approaches to chronic pain Communication techniques Having a family member present Group Setting Understanding self-management approaches to chronic pain Session was too short Background & Objectives Chronic pain (CP) is a major public health concern effecting 7.8 million people in the UK alone 1 Previous research demonstrates that it is not solely the individual diagnosed with CP that is affected, but also significant others Many theories have been used as a framework to understanding the role of the family in mediating pain responses, such as Expressed Emotions 2 and Interpersonal Theory 3 Relatives of individuals with CP have reported feeling powerless, alienated, emotionally distressed, and isolated 4 Roles and patterns of activity within a family are often well- established and disruption caused by CP can cause frustration and distress 5 and significant others may be an important and potentially detrimental source of support to individuals with CP 6 It is becoming increasingly acknowledged that involving significant others in pain management and taking psychosocial factors (including spousal response to development and maintenance of pain) into account are important elements of pain management 7 Inclusion of close others may increase the likelihood that the social environment will foster behaviour change 5 The current study’s objective was to assess perceived usefulness of family and friends (F&F) involvement in a well established pain management programme (PMP) at the Walton Centre, Liverpool This research aims to add to the literature regarding involvement of F&F on a PMP. Investigating the usefulness of a F&F afternoon as a singular component of a PMP is a novel research area Discussion This study demonstrates the importance F&F involvement on a PMP Quantitative analysis revealed the majority of individuals rated the content, speed and usefulness of the session as “very good” Qualitative analysis revealed that the most useful aspects of the F&F session were understanding self-management approaches to CP, communication techniques, and having a family member present - demonstrating that attendees valued having a significant other present (see Figure 2) However, the least useful aspects were the group setting - with feedback suggesting that the group was noisy, too big or they were not comfortable expressing feelings in a group; understanding self-management approaches to CP - with feedback suggesting individuals already knew about these techniques; and length of session - since a lot of attendees would have liked more time dedicated to the F&F session (see Figure 3) Conclusion In conclusion, the inclusion of significant others through the addition of a F&F session on the Walton Centre PMP was shown to be a valuable element of the PMP The F&F session was valued by PMP patients and their F&F alike. This corroborates with previous findings that carer inclusion can be crucial in development of self-management strategies Limitations of the study were its cross-sectional design and potential variation in session delivery by different staff Figure 1: Quotes from F&F session evaluation questionnaires Design In the context of evidence surrounding the importance of including significant others in CP rehabilitation a F&F session lasting 2.5 hours was added to the well established Walton Centre PMP This afternoon aimed to introduce family and friends to the philosophy of a PMP and its core themes in order to help establish understanding of CP (vs. acute pain) and appropriate support and communication between the individual with CP and significant others. The potential social stigma faced by individuals with ‘unseen’ health complaints 8 and their families is also explored A mixed method service evaluation was conducted enabling researchers to assess the usefulness and value of the session to those in attendance over a six month period This evaluation also allowed researchers to gain insight into any potential needs for amendments to the F&F session Methods For six months data was voluntarily collected using anonymous evaluation sheets involving 179 participants: 74 family members, 3 friends, 96 PMP patients and 6 participants who did not specify their relationship to the patient Quantitative data collection involved 5 point likert scales of satisfaction regarding session content, speed and usefulness. Descriptive statistics were obtained Qualitative data collection involved open-ended questions and a thematic analysis was conducted