Facial PainNCT07838337
Focus Groups in Facial Pain Management
An observational study of Facial Pain, run by Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust at 1 site in United Kingdom.
Trial summary
A study consisting of up to 3 focus groups, consisting of 6-8 people to facilitate an open discussion regarding the experience of attending a specialist facial pain management programme, both in terms of attendance of the programme itself, as well as any impact on pain management in day to day life. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Any age
- Conditions the study is for
- Facial Pain
- How many people
- 11 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited Kingdom
- Study dates
- 17 Jul 2017to 31 Mar 2020
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages Any age
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Study population: Service users who have attended a specialist facial pain management programme.
Who may be able to join
- Individuals with a diagnosis of chronic facial pain
- Individuals must have completed a specialist facial pain management programme at the Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust
Who cannot join
- Individuals who are unable to understand the study protocol or are unable to provide informed consent independently
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United Kingdom1 site
The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust
Liverpool, L9 7LJ
About this study
Official title: A Qualitative Study Into the Experience and Outcomes of Attending a Facial Pain Management Programme
A study consisting of up to 3 focus groups, consisting of 6-8 people to facilitate an open discussion regarding the experience of attending a specialist facial pain management programme, both in terms of attendance of the programme itself, as well as any impact on pain management in day to day life.
Read the detailed description
Chronic pain (CP) is a common condition causing significant distress and disability. Pain has been defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), as 'an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage. Pain remains essential for survival and facilitating medical diagnoses.
However, when acute pain outlasts the normal time of healing, it can become chronic. Chronic or persistent pain has been defined as 'continuous, long term pain of more than 12 weeks or after the time that healing would have been thought to have occurred in pain after trauma or surgery'. The definition of CP underlines the fact that emotional aspects are not additional to the experience of pain but are part of the sensation itself.
Psychological factors influence how people react to and report pain and result in coping strategies which may be helpful or destructive in maintaining function. The complex combination of emotions, thoughts and pain sensation manifests itself as pain behaviour. Pain, as a sensory experience, varies in its severity and life impact according to the individual's subjective meaning associated with a pain situation, his or her emotional responses, the attention given to the pain, and other personal appraisals. There is a strong evidence base for the effectiveness of pain management programmes (PMP's) underpinned by cognitive behavioural approaches in terms of improving patients well-being despite the presence of pain.
However, there is a relative lack of research specifically into cognitive behaviourally informed pain management treatment exclusively aimed at patients diagnosed with chronic facial pain. Some specialist PMP's focus exclusively on specific chronic pain diagnoses such as facial pain, whereas other PMP's offer treatment to patients with a broad range of chronic pain diagnoses. There is also little research into the relative advantages or disadvantages of these more specialist approaches. Systematic reviews have also suggested that further research is required to gain insight into the influence of specific components of PMP treatment on clinical outcomes.
Through gaining insight into service users experience of attending a specialist facial PMP, we hope to build on research in this area. This insight may have implications both for questions regarding the utility of more specialist PMP's and specific aspects of facial PMP's that patients find beneficial. In turn this may help guide our own service provision in future.
- Conditions
- Facial Pain
- Keywords
- Facial Pain, Pain Management
- Medical subject headings
- Facial Pain, Agnosia
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Patient perceptions of the effectiveness of pain management programmes and associated sessions (Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychology)
Audio recorded focus group sessions transcribed and broken down into qualitative research data. Themes from this data will then be identified. Questions asked in these focus group sessions include;
- What aspects of the pain management group were most helpful?
- What were the least helpful?
- How did you find the structure of the pain management group?
- What were your experiences of the physiotherapy / occupational therapy / psychology sessions?
- What would you change about the programme to improve it further?
Measured: From date of completion of facial pain management programme at WCFT to attendance at focus group. This time frame can be 1-10 years based on active participant.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted24 Sep 2026
- Study start17 Jul 2017
- Primary completion23 Aug 2018
- Study completion31 Mar 2020
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Facial PainStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Retrospective
- Enrolment
- 11 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Christian Ainsley, Principal investigator, Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07838337
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- RG212-17
- Status last verified
- Sep 2026
- First submitted
- 3 Sep 2026
- Last updated
- 24 Sep 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 24 Sep 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- A Qualitative Study Into the Experience and Outcomes of Attending a Facial Pain Management Programme
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07838337
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- RG212-17
- Conditions
- Facial Pain
- Keywords
- Facial Pain, Pain Management
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 11 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Walton Centre NHS Foundation TrustUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 17 Jul 2017 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 23 Aug 2018 (actual)
- Study completion
- 31 Mar 2020 (actual)
- First posted
- 24 Sep 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
A study consisting of up to 3 focus groups, consisting of 6-8 people to facilitate an open discussion regarding the experience of attending a specialist facial pain management programme, both in terms of attendance of the programme itself, as well as any impact on pain management in day to day life.
Detailed description
Chronic pain (CP) is a common condition causing significant distress and disability. Pain has been defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), as 'an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage. Pain remains essential for survival and facilitating medical diagnoses.
However, when acute pain outlasts the normal time of healing, it can become chronic. Chronic or persistent pain has been defined as 'continuous, long term pain of more than 12 weeks or after the time that healing would have been thought to have occurred in pain after trauma or surgery'. The definition of CP underlines the fact that emotional aspects are not additional to the experience of pain but are part of the sensation itself.
Psychological factors influence how people react to and report pain and result in coping strategies which may be helpful or destructive in maintaining function. The complex combination of emotions, thoughts and pain sensation manifests itself as pain behaviour. Pain, as a sensory experience, varies in its severity and life impact according to the individual's subjective meaning associated with a pain situation, his or her emotional responses, the attention given to the pain, and other personal appraisals. There is a strong evidence base for the effectiveness of pain management programmes (PMP's) underpinned by cognitive behavioural approaches in terms of improving patients well-being despite the presence of pain.
However, there is a relative lack of research specifically into cognitive behaviourally informed pain management treatment exclusively aimed at patients diagnosed with chronic facial pain. Some specialist PMP's focus exclusively on specific chronic pain diagnoses such as facial pain, whereas other PMP's offer treatment to patients with a broad range of chronic pain diagnoses. There is also little research into the relative advantages or disadvantages of these more specialist approaches. Systematic reviews have also suggested that further research is required to gain insight into the influence of specific components of PMP treatment on clinical outcomes.
Through gaining insight into service users experience of attending a specialist facial PMP, we hope to build on research in this area. This insight may have implications both for questions regarding the utility of more specialist PMP's and specific aspects of facial PMP's that patients find beneficial. In turn this may help guide our own service provision in future.
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Retrospective
Who may qualify
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
- Study population
- Service users who have attended a specialist facial pain management programme.
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Individuals with a diagnosis of chronic facial pain
- Individuals must have completed a specialist facial pain management programme at the Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Individuals who are unable to understand the study protocol or are unable to provide informed consent independently
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Primary outcome
Patient perceptions of the effectiveness of pain management programmes and associated sessions (Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychology)
Time frame: From date of completion of facial pain management programme at WCFT to attendance at focus group. This time frame can be 1-10 years based on active participant.
Audio recorded focus group sessions transcribed and broken down into qualitative research data. Themes from this data will then be identified. Questions asked in these focus group sessions include; * What aspects of the pain management group were most helpful? * What were the least helpful? * How did you find the structure of the pain management group? * What were your experiences of the physiotherapy / occupational therapy / psychology sessions? * What would you change about the programme to improve it further?
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 24 Sep 2026.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Christian Ainsley principal investigator
Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Facial Pain, run by Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust at 1 site in United Kingdom.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 24 Sep 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United Kingdom. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Patient perceptions of the effectiveness of pain management programmes and associated sessions (Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychology) (time frame: From date of completion of facial pain management programme at WCFT to attendance at focus group. This time frame can be 1-10 years based on active participant.). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 24 Sep 2026; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 6 Nov 2026.