INTRODUCTION: Over the last decade there has been a growing emphasis on pain neuroscience education (PNE), a cognitive-based educational intervention. The goal of PNE is to change a patient’s knowledge about their pain experience, regardless of chronicity, leading to better understanding about the pain experience. Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students may not receive adequate pain education and the treatment of patients with chronic pain.

PURPOSE: The study’s purpose is to evaluate changes in pain knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs, via survey research of DPT students. This study evaluated whether students’ responses about chronic pain changed over their three-year curriculum. Results may assist with curriculum analysis, potentially increasing PNE in the curriculum.

METHODS: Thirty-seven Wichita State University DPT students (20-30 years old) were given a Qualtrics survey that consisted of the following three questionnaires; Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire (NPQ), Health Care Providers’ Pain and Impairment Relationship Scale (HC-PAIRS), and the Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale for Physiotherapists (PABS-PT). The survey was given at three different points throughout the participants’ time in the DPT program. The data were analyzed using a one-way analysis of variance in SPSS.

RESULTS: There were no statistically significant changes in scores for the NPQ, HC-PAIRS or PABS-PT over the three survey administration periods.

CONCLUSION: While there are no statistically significant changes for NPQ, HC-PAIRS or PABS-PT scores, this study provides a base from which future research can be conducted over the pain knowledge, beliefs, and education that physical therapy students receive in their institution’s curriculum. The format and concepts of this study also have the potential to be applied to educational programs of other healthcare professions.