Increasing access to pain care services to improve rural pain management: a realist review investigating factors affecting uptake, implementation, and sustainability

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ABSTRACT: Guideline-based care for chronic pain is challenging to deliver in rural settings. Evaluations of programs that increase access to pain care services in rural areas report variable outcomes. We conducted a realist review to gain a deep understanding of how and why such programs may, or may not, work. Our review incorporated interest-holder input in all review phases. We conducted CLUSTER searching to identify literature relevant to understanding the factors affecting the uptake, implementation, and sustainability of programs offering pain care services to rural general practitioners. We used retroductive analysis to generate and test context-mechanism-outcome configurations. Our results are informed by 74 studies. We identified that awareness of the program, provision of necessary resources, and positive attitudes towards the program are required to enable program uptake. When looking for suitable patients to refer, general practitioners need to trust their ability to discuss a referral with a patient in their allocated appointment time. Program sustainability requires clear roles for all providers and sufficient program coordination. Increased access to pain care services enabled interprofessional learning that increased local providers' confidence to manage chronic pain. Many barriers can interfere with successful uptake, implementation, and sustainability of programs that increase access to pain care services in rural settings. It is important to tailor rural workforce programs to local community needs to increase the likelihood of success. Our findings include recommendations for future program planners to consider.

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