Introduction
In a National Health Service (NHS) musculoskeletal outpatients’ service in the UK, a pain science education programme for patients with chronic pain was transitioned from didactic delivery to Team-based Learning (TBL). As TBL was likely to be unfamiliar, this study sought to consult patients who were the first to have participated to find out the acceptability of the approach and the extent to which they felt they had benefited or otherwise.

Methods
This was a qualitative usability testing study of patients with chronic low back pain (n=10) over the age of 18 participating in a 5-week TBL pain science education course between April and June 2024 in Somerset, England. After the course patients were invited to discuss their views and experiences in a focus group discussion. A topic guide was used to guide questioning and promote debate and elaboration on initial responses. Patients could also have a one-to-one online/telephone discussion should there be anything they would prefer to discuss privately. All discussions were conducted and recorded by a post-doctoral researcher for thematic analysis. Institutional ethical approval was obtained prior to commencement (Bournemouth University Ethics ID 56258, 11th March 2024).

Results
Seven patients participated in the focus group discussion and the remaining three consented to one-one online/telephone discussion. Results were consistently positive. A particularly impactful comment was, “Everyone was made to feel welcome and not only included but heard. Those of us living with chronic pain do not often feel heard and it was a refreshing change.” Negative comments appeared related to pain being an ongoing problem rather than the delivery of the course itself.

Conclusion
Patients with chronic pain were favorable towards TBL pain science education. Next steps are to evaluate the impact of the TBL approach on patient-reported outcomes such as pain, disability and quality of life.