Exploring the barriers to identification of chronic pain in people with learning disabilities
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Exploring the barriers to identification of chronic pain in people with learning disabilities

Emma Lucia Whiteman Undergraduate nursing student, Nursing Science Registered Nurse (Learning Disabilities) BSc (Hons), Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To be aware that chronic pain in people with learning disabilities may be under-recognised

  • To understand the barriers to identification of chronic pain in people with learning disabilities

  • To recognise the need for increased learning disability awareness among all healthcare staff to improve identification of chronic pain

Despite the relatively high incidence of chronic pain in the general population, there is a lack of research into its prevalence in people with learning disabilities. People with learning disabilities have greater exposure to some of the risk factors for developing chronic pain than the general population and experience health inequalities. The combination of these factors suggests that chronic pain in this population may go undetected. Barriers to conducting research with people with learning disabilities and challenges in identifying pain in this population increase the risk of under-identification of chronic pain. This article examines some of these barriers and considers the implications for nursing practice and healthcare services in improving identification of chronic pain in people with learning disabilities.

Learning Disability Practice. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2024.e2255

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

@NurseEmmaW

Correspondence

emmaluciawhiteman@gmail.com

Conflict of interest

None declared

Whiteman EL (2024) Exploring the barriers to identification of chronic pain in people with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Practice. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2024.e2255

Published online: 25 October 2024

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