Philosophy & Ethics SIG - Pain and work - getting people back to work
15th Mar 2021
The Philosophy & Ethics SIG of The British Pain Society have arranged a series of monthly Zoom meetings to discuss some of the issues and dilemmas that face us in managing chronic pain. Each discussion will be limited to 25 participants to debate and explore the key areas or challenges, in everyday clinical practice.
The format will be a 30-minute plenary talk by a well known clinician to stimulate 60 minutes of moderated discussion.
Monday 15th March 2021, 7.45-9.15pm, GMT
Elaine Wainwright
Pain and Word - getting people back to work
What is ‘Good’ occupation for people living with persistent pain? Should we take a lifespan development approach?
What does it mean to have ‘good’ work, or meaningful occupation, for people living with persistent pain in the twenty-first century? How might this apply across the life-course, to young people in pain who are also negotiating transitions from school to modern labour markets, or to millennials, or to people in later life production? What helps us to be meaningfully and sustainably occupied when we have pain? These issues are important ones to think about so we can enable as many people as possible to engage in meaningful activity. Recently, I co-edited a book on the impact of pain on occupation across the lifespan with Professor Christopher Eccleston, Director of the Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, which I will draw on to start our exploration of these questions.
Biography, Elaine Wainwright
I am a Chartered psychologist, with a key research interest in how work, and more broadly, meaningful occupation, matter when we think about pain across the lifespan. I’m also really interested in how we can embed the idea that “good” work can be seen as a health outcome in different care and work settings. I was lucky enough to do my PhD at the Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, where I hold an Honorary Research Fellowship, and I have a readership in Applied Psychology at Bath Spa University. I am also a co-investigator at the Centre of Excellence for Musculoskeletal Health and Work, directed by Professor Karen Walker Bone, at the University of Southampton. In partnership with people living with persistent pain, we are currently planning research investigating how to deliver occupational health in primary care for all, in times of recession. We will explore what all key stakeholders think about a particular form of individual placement support.
I live in Somerset with my lovely family and enjoy kickboxing in my spare time (currently via Zoom!), baking with my kids and then attempting to walk off our cakes in the local fields. I am delighted to be discussing work and pain with the BPS Philosophy and Ethics SIG and very much look forward to meeting everyone.
If you would like to attend, please register your interest by emailing Maureen Tilford, SIG Secretary, at: [email protected].