Coast residents will have the opportunity to become an important part of a world- first research project in June, by helping shape a major pain education campaign designed by and for the region.
Led by UniSA’s Professor Lorimer Moseley AO and in collaboration with primary and local health networks, the EQUiPP project team will work with communities in western Victoria and the Limestone Coast over the next four years, aiming to change the way Australians understand pain.
EQUiPP Project Manager Dr Louise Wiles said the federally funded project aimed to ‘shift the dial’ on how Australians understand chronic pain, its impacts and the best prevention and treatment approaches.
“EQUiPP is a whole-of-community approach to bring our discoveries together in a long-term public health education and messaging campaign, designed by and for that community,” she said.
“Our team started conversations about chronic pain with local health agencies across the Limestone Coast in 2023. We heard about the challenges locals face, the impacts of chronic pain, including opioids, which can be a real problem, and the strategies most likely to help.
“Understanding chronic or persistent pain is complex, however a critical first step to reducing its impact is to get everyone on the same page about how pain works in the human body and what we can all do to reduce its impacts and get back to a normal life.”
Understanding why pain becomes ‘chronic’ and how best to help people recover has been both a personal and professional mission for Professor Moseley over the last two decades.
Through keynote speeches in more than 30 countries, and numerous books and publications, Professor Moseley’s award-winning contribution to pain science and rehabilitation has been internationally recognised, reaching tens of thousands of healthcare professionals worldwide.
Limestone Coast residents are being asked to become part of a localised solution, by joining the EQUiPP team for co-design sessions in Mount Gambier, Millicent and Naracoorte during the first week of June.
Professor Moseley said anyone from footy coaches to farm suppliers, community advocates to councillors are welcome to get involved,.
“We want people who are engaged with and represent all sections of the community, with particular interest in those harder-to-reach sections,” he said.
“Our team will bring a deep understanding of the scientific discoveries that have the ability to help, however these concepts can be surprising at first and difficult to communicate quickly and easily.
“What we need is that local knowledge on how to ensure our communication and application of these messages brings the maximum benefit to these communities.”
The project will take a staged approach over the next four years, with the co-design sessions with local communities the first step before a targeted education campaign rolls out later this year.
Over the last two years, UniSA’s Pain Revolution team has provided scholarships to Limestone Coast health professionals, assisting them to gain the skills and knowledge in modern pain care to lead their communities towards best-care approaches.
Professor Moseley said EQUiPP will continue to build on that foundation by including the whole community in the design and format of the public campaign.
He said the first step of EQUiPP was to engage with as many community representatives as possible, to ensure the campaign is representative of both the wider region, and the many micro-communities within.
“What’s important to Mount Gambier may not be important to Millicent,” he said.
“There are communities within communities, and they all have different but important ways of understanding things.
“For EQUiPP to be effective, we have to design the campaign specifically with local communities, so we want everyone who has skin in the game to contribute to the solution.”
The co-design workshops will be held in Mount Gambier, Naracoorte and Millicent during the first week of June.
Learn more and register your interest at www.equipp.org.au
