Inclusive recovery planning for incremental systemic change: A methodology, early outcomes, and limitations from the Falkland Islands' Covid‐19 recovery planning experience

Abstract

Background: Persistent pain is a highly prevalent, global cause of disability. Research suggests that many healthcare professionals are not well equipped to manage pain, and this may be attributable at least in part to undergraduate education. The primary aim of this study was to quantify and compare first and final year nursing, midwifery and allied health professional (NMAHP) students' pain related knowledge and attitudes. The secondary aim was to explore what factors influence students' pain related knowledge and attitudes. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1154 first and final year healthcare students, from 12 universities in five different countries completed the Revised Neurophysiology of Pain Quiz (RNPQ) [knowledge] and the Health Care Providers Pain and Impairment Relationship Scale (HC-PAIRS) [attitudes].Results: Physiotherapy was the only student group with statistically and clinically improved pain related knowledge [mean difference, 95% CI] (3.4, 3.0 to 3.9, p = 0.01) and attitudes (-17.2, -19.2 to 15.2, p = 0.01) between first and final year. Pain education teaching varied considerably from course to course (0 to 40 h), with greater levels of pain related knowledge and attitudes associated with higher volumes of pain specific teaching. Conclusions:There was little difference in pain knowledge and attitudes between all first and final year NMAHP students other than physiotherapy. This suggests that for most NMAHP disciplines, undergraduate teaching has little or no impact on students' understanding of pain. There is an urgent need to enhance pain education provision at the undergraduate level in NMAHPs.Trial Registration: The study protocol was prospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.Gov NCT03 522857.

Investigation of COVID-19 transmission during the first community outbreak in a remote island population, Falkland Islands, April to June 2022

“…The Falkland Islands (FI) are a self-governing British Overseas Territory around 650 kilometres from the coast of South America with a population of approximately 3,600 [1]. Most residents live in the capital, Stanley, with a smaller proportion living in rural areas (known as Camp), and military personnel residing in the Mount Pleasant Complex (MPC) [2]. The Islands are served by one hospital, King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) in Stanley, providing primary and basic secondary care.…”

“…There was virtually no community transmission of COVID-19 in FI throughout 2020 and 2021, with just a handful of imported cases identified within quarantine, a small outbreak at MPC, which was very quickly controlled, and another on an oil tanker ship in the harbour (which was well contained). This was likely due to the remoteness of the islands, robustly maintained border restrictions including various regimens of quarantine and pre and post arrival testing over time, and the speedy implementation of local PCR testing at the outset of the pandemic [2].…”