AB125. SOH25_AB_033. An exploration of religious faith and spirituality in the management of pain among adults attending a pain service

Background: There is limited knowledge regarding the impact of religious faith on pain. Compared to the extensive research on the relationship between ethnicity and pain, there has been relatively little investigation into how faith might affect pain-related issues and its management. Faith has been recognised as a potential means of coping with pain. Given the evolving nature of religious beliefs and faith in Ireland, we aim to understand the significance of faith to patients—whether they gain or lose faith while in pain, and how their faith, or lack thereof, may influence their pain management strategies.

Methods: Patients attending a chronic pain service at Croom Hospital will be provided with a questionnaire on pain and faith. Appropriate length of time will be given to the patient to complete the questionnaire. On completion, it is put into a safe box under a lock and key until it is uploaded to a password-protected Excel file.

Results: This is an observational study regarding patients attending a chronic pain service and their religious experience. We ask them is their faith important to them and we ask them could their faith be relevant to the management of their pain. We ask them do healthcare workers think about this interactive process.

Conclusions: This study aims to find out how a patient’s faith is important or not to them, do they lose/gain faith when in pain, does their faith or lack thereof alter their pain management plan. Does their faith alter how healthcare workers perceive them?

Keywords: Pain; faith; religion; spirituality; prayer