APS2025: Annual Scientific Meeting Travel Grant Recipient Report

Emily Walker

Emily Walker is working on her PhD at University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), with her research focusing on chronic low back pain. Clinically, she works as an exercise physiologist in a multidisciplinary clinic, primarily seeing people with pain, osteoporosis, and other musculoskeletal concerns. Emily is also an Associate Lecturer at UNSW, where she is involved in teaching subjects on research methods, musculoskeletal health and exercise across the lifespan.

Reflections on the 2025 Australian Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting

Receiving the Travel Grant made it possible for me to attend the 2025 Australian Pain Society (APS) Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) and fully participate in what continues to be a deeply valuable professional experience. Without this support, the financial barriers of travel, registration, and accommodation would have limited my ability to contribute and engage. I am very grateful to the Society for enabling my involvement.

This year, I had the opportunity to present in the Empowering Patients: Innovative Approaches to Chronic Low Back Pain Management free paper session. My presentation was titled “Mechanisms of Patient-Led Goal Setting and Pain Science Education in People with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Mediation Analysis.” I shared findings from a mediation analysis exploring how pain self-efficacy, kinesiophobia, and health-related quality of life may mediate the impact of a combined intervention of goal setting and pain education on pain intensity and disability. This research sits within a broader body of work aiming to centre patients more meaningfully in their care and enhance engagement in chronic pain management.

This was my second time attending the ASM. I was fortunate to attend last year, where I particularly appreciated the strong Indigenous focus and the critical conversations it encouraged. While this year’s lens was different, I welcomed the variety. The conference struck a good balance between clinical, research, and systems-level perspectives. I valued the continued commitment to equity and implementation.

Two of my favourite sessions this year were the workshops titled:

• The IASP Global Year through an Australian Lens: Research and Action to Address Pain Inequities, and
• Rural Realities vs Urban Ideals: Breaking the Metro Mould of Pain Management in Rural Australia.

Both workshops highlighted how inequities in access, service design, and broader social determinants shape people’s pain experiences and the care they receive. They offered practical strategies and challenged us to think critically about how we can adapt models of care to better reflect and respond to the diversity of people’s lives, particularly those in rural and remote communities.

Networking was another highlight of the conference. I connected with researchers and clinicians from across the country and from different professions. These informal and formal conversations often sparked ideas for collaboration and left me feeling energised about the future of pain research and care. One individual who left a lasting impression was a clinician working in a rural setting whose patient-centred, community-informed approach provided a fresh perspective on implementation challenges I have been exploring in my own work.

I also enjoyed engaging with the poster sessions and learning about the broad scope of projects being undertaken. The Gala Dinner was a great opportunity to connect in a more relaxed setting, sharing stories, laughs, and dance moves with people who are equally passionate about improving care for people in pain.

Attending the ASM reinforced how important it is to create spaces where clinicians, researchers, and people with lived experience can come together to share ideas and challenge each other. The sessions I attended and the conversations I had pushed me to think more critically about the structural and social contexts of pain care and reminded me why patient-centred, equity-focused approaches matter.

I am already looking forward to next year’s meeting, continuing to build on the relationships I have formed, sharing further insights from my PhD research, and learning from others doing impactful work in the field.

Declaration:
Emily Walker has nothing to declare.