713: Pain Education Outcomes in Caucasian Canadians and Visible Minorities with Persistent Shoulder Pain

Topic: Experimental (Non-clinical) Human Studies
Subtopic: Pain Category (ICD-11), Chronic primary musculoskeletal pain, Non-pharmacological treatments, Physiotherapy (e.g. exercise, rehab), Ethnic Differences

Background and Aims: Rotator cuff-related shoulder pain (RCRSP) affects up to 70% of the population, with 40% reporting persistent symptoms after one year(1-4). Although pain is a multidimensional experience shaped by biological, emotional, cognitive, and sociocultural factors(5), the role of sociocultural diversity in pain processing remains understudied, contributing to reductionist treatment approaches(6). Immigrant-rich contexts such as Canada offer an opportunity to examine these influences. This study compared responses to a pain education (PE) self-management program between Caucasian Canadian adults and individuals from visible minorities groups living in Canada with RCRSP. Demographic and biopsychosocial variables were also examined to contextualize the sample at baseline.

Methods: Thirty-four participants with persistent RCRSP completed the study (18 Caucasian Canadians and 16 individuals identified as visible minorities; 42.9±9.3 years; 34.3% female; 37% with pain duration >1 year). Using the REDCap platform, participants completed questionnaires assessing demographics, symptoms, and biopsychosocial factors, including the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH), Brief Resilience Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Participants then completed a shoulder PE self-management program involving two physiotherapist-led sessions. BPI and QuickDASH were reassessed after six months. Group-by-time effects were analyzed using mixed-model ANOVA (p<0.05).

Results: A significant group × time interaction was observed for pain intensity, assessed by BPI (p=0.019). Participants identified as visible minorities reported lower pain levels at follow-up (0.9 ± 0.78) compared with Caucasian Canadians (2.53 ± 2.61). No significant between-group differences were found for shoulder-related disability, estimated by QuickDASH (p=0.14). While primary analyses focused on pain and function, demographic and biopsychosocial variables were used to describe and contextualize the sample, and baseline comparisons using t-tests (age, BPI, QuickDASH, BRS, PSS-10, MSPSS) and chi-square tests (genre, dominance, education, income, pain duration) showed no group differences (p-values range = 0.06 to 0.97).

Conclusions: Contrary to our hypothesis, individuals identified as visible minorities demonstrated greater reductions in pain following the education program, while both groups showed comparable improvements in shoulder-related disability. These findings suggest that socio-cultural factors may influence responsiveness to pain education interventions and highlight the importance of considering cultural diversity when developing and implementing pain self-management strategies. As an exploratory study with a small sample, these results provide a foundation for future research with larger, more diverse populations, examining long-term outcomes and socio-cultural factors influencing engagement and response to self-management interventions.

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Presenting Author: Dayana Patricia Rosa
Submitting Author: Dayana Rosa

Senior Author: Jean-Sébastien Roy

IASP 2026 Global Year theme of Neuropathic Pain: No

• Jean-Sébastien Roy: PhD - Department of Rehabilitation and Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration (Cirris) - Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada