Purpose: The sensory environment (Snoezelen) has been advocated by those working in the field of learning disabilities and mental health as a strategy to induce relaxation. The purpose of the current study was to explore this potential within the field of pain management where the use of relaxation techniques is often employed as a strategy for the management of chronic pain. Thus the current study was designed in order to determine the use of the sensory environment compared against a traditional relaxation programme used within a District General hospital pain clinic.
Method: Seventy three patients were randomly allocated into either a control or experimental group. Data collection involved the administration of questionnaires, which were selected in order to reflect the multidimensional nature of the chronic pain experience. Hence measures included: pain intensity, pain quality, anxiety, depression, self-efficacy, coping and sickness impact. Analysis was performed using SPSS and included Friedman two-way analysis and repeated measures analysis of variance.
Results: The results indicated that the experimental group experienced a significant increase in pain (p = 0.03), but they improved significantly in disability associated with sleep (p = 0.01), psychosocial (p = 0.03) and sickness impact total (p = 0.004). The experimental group experienced a significant decrease in pain (sensory - p = 0.002), (number of words chosen - p = 0.008), (pain rating index - p = 0.002). Furthermore a reduction in disability associated with physical (p = 0.009), psychosocial (p = 0.009), sleep (p = 0.001), recreation (p = 0.001) and SIP total (p = 0.001). Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed a significant improvement with the experimental group in terms of pain (p = 0.04) and self-efficacy (p = 0.02).
Conclusions: The patients who attended the sensory environment did slightly better that those who attended the traditional relaxation programme in terms of self-efficacy. Thus the current study indicates the potential for future research into chronic pain management.