Is occupational therapy adequately meeting the needs of people with chronic pain?

Dominic Harmon, MD, is Consultant, Department of Pain Medicine, Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, Republic of Ireland. The World Health Organization (2002) has identified chronic conditions such as chronic pain as increasing at an alarming rate. Given the incidence and consequences of chronic pain (Breivik, Collet, Ventafridda, Cohen, & Gallacher, 2006) and occupational therapy’s potential contribution to the quality of life of people with chronic pain, reviewing contemporary occupational therapy services for people with chronic pain is warranted. This paper deconstructs contemporary occupational therapy services and challenges current professional philosophy and practice. Ensuring that the Centennial Vision of occupational therapy as a powerful, widely recognized, evidence-based profession meeting society’s occupational needs (American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 2007) is realized requires discussion to challenge and ultimately transform practice. This article discusses contemporary occupational therapy for people with chronic pain with reference to a broad range of literature from many disciplines, and it examines the success of occupational therapy services in meeting the occupational needs of people with chronic pain. It concludes with a call for action that identifies key strategies for the future development of occupational therapy research and services for people with chronic pain.