Join Virginia McIntyre in discussing One Thing she wants pain researchers or clinicians to know. Virginia McIntyre highlights the transformative power of peer support for those with chronic pain. She emphasizes the positive mental health outcomes and urges clinicians to integrate it into patient care.
About Virginia
Virginia McIntyre is the President and Executive Director of People in Pain Network (PIPN). She developed persistent pain in 2009 after a shoulder surgery. She holds a BA in community studies, a diploma in Radiological and Magnetic Resonance Imaging, and completed multiple courses in leadership development. She works extensively as pain advocate and lived experience partner on research projects, committees, and other pain related initiatives. She is an internationally known public presenter focusing on pain-related topics with a committed diligence to increase awareness on chronic pain and the value of peer support.
Transcript
David Kennedy: What’s one thing you want clinicians to know about pain?
Virginia McIntyre: Hi, David, thanks for having me here. This is exciting. The one thing that I really want clinicians actually need to know, is that pain-facilitated support is making a profound impact on the lives of countless individuals living with pain. And clinicians need to include these pain networks in their patient care. It’s very important if they want to see the patients move forward.
People are not getting the help and the support they need, and the more they’re left hanging in excruciating pain, and not believed, the worse things get for them. So to fill this really tremendous gap that is in our healthcare system, I opened peer support, these pain networks in Eastern Canada. And these are unique. Unique in the fact that in these networks: our facilitators, they’re trained, they’re offered support. Within their groups they don’t just offer support, they offer education, evidence-based education. Within these groups, it’s people involved. People get there. It’s a perfect place where they’re waiting for pain services, a place to be when they finish self-managed classes, or they now have identified what’s wrong with them. A place that they can go to continue to learn and a place where they can go, and they can feel believed and helped, and they can learn to live with this pain. For many people they call it their “home base”; It becomes a community of community of support. We’re fortunate that research has shown that peer support has been around for a while and peer support decreases mental health issues, people having hospitalization for mental health issues. It decreases their stress, and it increases quality of life.
We shouldn’t be suffering alone. And you know everybody knows clinicians there’s a huge lack of knowledge about chronic pain. But who knows more about chronic pain than someone who is living with it and doing well, or knows more about how to navigate a healthcare system than someone who has chronic pain.
David Kennedy: Well, thank you so much for sharing one thing.
Virginia McIntyre: Awesome. Thank you.