Pain Smart Education

“Without access to pain management, quality of life for children and adolescents with chronic pain is severely limited. Children with chronic pain report higher levels of physical disability, anxiety, depression, sleep problems and poor academic performance”

World Health Organization

This is a study led by a team from the University of Sydney. This study is a Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) supported by the Australian Government.

GET INVOLVED!

The Pain Smart Study

Pain Smart is a three-lesson health education program that helps adolescents build practical, age-appropriate skills to better understand and manage pain.

We know teachers are busy, so we’ve designed Pain Smart to be simple, curriculum-aligned, and low-burden.

Why Pain Smart

Around 1 in 6 adolescents experience ongoing musculoskeletal pain
Pain can reduce attendance, concentration, sport participation, mental health and overall wellbeing
Early, evidence-based education can reduce the risk of pain becoming long-term

What schools receive

Three ready-to-teach health education lessons for Years 7 to 10
Fully aligned with stages 4 and 5 of the current and new NSW PDHPE curriculum and the Year 7-10 Australian Health and Physical Education curriculum.
Complete resource pack (slides, student activities, teacher lesson plans)
Teacher training and support provided
$1,000 reimbursement to the school for teacher training time
Students reporting problems with pain can be offered Pain SmartER an optional addition providing individual support from a health professional and extra resources to manage their pain
Participating students go into a draw to win one gift card per class

What’s involved

Health education teachers deliver the lessons in class
Classes and timeframe nominated by each school
No additional assessment or marking
No cost to the school

Who can express interest

Anyone who would like to champion Pain Smart, including principals, curriculum or wellbeing leaders, health education staff, school counsellors, coaches, parents, etc.
Our team can assist with information or materials to support internal discussions and approvals.
Australian secondary schools

Getting involved is easy

Click here to register interest
We’ll be in touch for a no obligation conversation

We’ve started delivering Pain Smart in NSW high schools and are now enrolling schools across Australia. Schools are being confirmed on a rolling basis until places are filled. We encourage early expressions of interest.

Getting involved is easy!

Click the button to express your interest and we will be in touch to schedule a meeting. There’s no initial commitment required on your part, and we will ensure that the process is as smooth as possible.

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