Expert consensus on content of pain science education for females with persistent pelvic pain: protocol for an e-Delphi study of expert clinicians

Persistent pelvic pain is a major healthcare concern, affecting 14-25% of females of reproductive age. It is estimated that persistent pelvic pain costs AU$9.5 billion per year in expenses due to primary health care costs and loss of productivity. The current treatment options for persistent pelvic pain are heavily influenced by an outdated biomedical model and are accompanied with low recovery rates. This low recovery rate may be influenced by a lack of adaptation to a biopsychosocial model of care, despite agreement that persistent pain is biopsychosocial in nature. Pain science education (PSE) underpinned by the biopsychosocial model has been shown to be effective at reducing pain and disability for a variety of pain conditions and is therefore frequently recommended in clinical guidelines. However, research into PSE for persistent pelvic pain is in its infancy. Anecdotally, there remains a lot of variance in the content of PSE used clinically for persistent pelvic pain. It is also not clear what the 'gold standard' PSE concepts for females with persistent pelvic pain are. Considering the views of expert clinicians is important when developing patient education (including PSE) because they have a sound knowledge of the topic and extensive experience delivering such knowledge in clinical practice. Gaining expert clinician consensus on the content and delivery of PSE for females with PPP using the Delphi method is an important step toward developing and tailoring PSE curriculum for this population.