The goal of this clinical trial was to learn whether a pain science education session could improve physician assistant students' understanding of pain and their beliefs about people with persistent pain.

The main questions were:

Did students' knowledge of how pain works change after the education session? Did students' beliefs about the relationship between pain, physical impairment, and activity change after the session? Were any changes maintained during the remainder of the physician assistant program?

Participants were students enrolled in one physician assistant master's degree program. All students received a four-hour pain science education session and a 30-minute hands-on laboratory session as part of their curriculum. The session explained that pain is affected by biological, psychological, and social factors. It also included case discussions, small-group activities, pain-related screening tools, and demonstrations of selected pain management techniques.

Participants completed questionnaires before the session, immediately afterward, and at three later points during the program. The final questionnaires were completed shortly before graduation. Researchers compared questionnaire scores across these five time points to examine changes in pain knowledge and pain-related beliefs.