Photo: Pain Revolution
It takes a huge vision to pull together a 700 kilometre pedal-powered pain education tour through rural and regional Australia. That's what University of South Australia's Professor Lorimer Moseley has done for the past two years, and he's doing it again in 2019. Prof Moseley and a team of 24 riders will be riding around Tasmania on 16-23 March, to raise much-needed funds for the Local Pain Educator Program (LPEP).
Lorimer’s vision is that all Australians will be resourced, empowered and supported to prevent and overcome persistent pain. To do this, the Local Pain Educator Program (LPEP) will upskill the GP and allied health workforce in rural and regional Australia to deliver best practice pain education, and provide the support needed to safeguard the wellbeing of these rural health professionals. Like treating pain itself, there's no quick fix, and the program is focussed on building long-term sustainability by embedding capacity in rural and regional communities to prevent and manage persistent pain.
The LPEP is building towards a national network of health practitioners with higher level expertise in pain science and education, who have ongoing support to make real change at the grassroots level. They're at the leading edge of establishing a framework for community-based pain education and closing the gap on inequities to access of care experienced by regional and rural communities.
The first cohort of Local Pain Educators (LPEs) are approaching the end of a year-long postgraduate course in pain science from the University of South Australia. The Local Pain Educators represent a variety of healthcare disciplines and are spread across New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. The program has a built-in mentorship component, involving academic, clinical and industry leaders in pain management and treatment. The LPEs and their mentors are working together to develop and deliver sustainable pain education in their local communities.
In 2019, Pain Revolution will focus on the challenges that Tasmania faces with persisting pain. Tasmanian clinicians will be joining our LPE program to establish a State-wide network, in collaboration with the Tasmanian Department of Health and Health Recruitment Plus. Applications are currently open for scholarships into the program for Tasmania and other target areas. Partnerships and collaborations with community groups and industry bodies are most welcome.
The Pain Revolution ride will visit Devonport, Burnie, Smithton, Launceston, Hobart and Huonville. The education team and the riders will be running public and professional education events, and setting up the Brain Bus in prominent places in each town to get the whole community thinking about what pain is, new ways to understand it, and how we can treat it better.
Like the Local Pain Educators, the riders represent a multidisciplinary team of health professionals and researchers who are prepared to get on their bikes and ride out to the communities that need help.
Lorimer's vision is one that shines bright.
"We ride because we have a diverse and altogether remarkable skill and knowledge set that we want to share. We ride because we know the potential impact of sharing it. We ride because we really believe that a Pain Revolution is desperately needed and, critically, because we all think that it is actually possible. " he says.
Think you'd like to take a week off and see some of Australia's most beautiful scenery in Tasmania? Find out more via the 2019 Ride Page.
For more information about the Local Pain Educator Program and scholarship applications, check out https://www.painrevolution.org/local-pain-educator-program or contact [email protected]
Pain Revolution will be presenting a workshop on Preventing and managing chronic pain locally in Hobart on 24 March 2019 as a pre-Conference event for the 15th National Rural Health Conference.
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