OBJECTIVES: To investigate the self-reported pain outcomes of a sample of pharmacists with chronic pain.

METHODS: Licensed pharmacists in a Southwestern United States state (n=10993) were sent an electronic survey in 2015. Participants were included if they indicated they had chronic pain (pain daily for three to six months). Participants were asked to report the number of hospital admissions and emergency department visits in the past five years due to pain, workdays lost in the past six months due to pain, adverse events from pain management strategies used, satisfaction with pain management, pain interference on: daily activities; leisure activities; relationships; and work, pain intensity after treatment, and percent pain relief. Descriptive analysis was employed. Data were summarized by calculating means and standard deviations for continuous data and frequencies and percentages for categorical data.

RESULTS: Most participants reported that they had not had a pain-related hospital admission (93%) or emergency department (87%) in the past five years; and had not experienced an adverse event caused by pain self-management strategies (58%). Participants reported pain interfered with their ability to: perform daily activities (62%); participate in leisure activities (58%); form relationships (38%); and attend work (41%). Three quarters (75%) of participants reported they were satisfied with their pain self-management strategies, and four-fifths (80%) reported they had not missed any days of work in the past six months due to pain. The median intensity of pain after treatment was 2.8 (range=10) and the median percent of pain relief from all strategies was 71% (range=86).

CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that chronic pain can cause considerable interference to the lives of individuals with chronic pain. Many reported experiencing adverse events and a quarter were unsatisfied with their pain management strategies. Further work is required to identify strategies to improve health outcomes for individuals with chronic pain.