• Amy Peacock, Suzanne Nielsen, Raimondo Bruno, Gabrielle Campbell, Briony Larance, and Louisa Degenhardt.
• School of Medicine (Psychology), University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia Amy.Peacock@unsw.edu.au.
• Pain Med. 2016 Nov 1; 17 (11): 2003-2016.

ObjectiveRates of chronic non-cancer pain are increasing worldwide, with concerns regarding poorer access to specialist treatment services in remote areas. The current study comprised the first in-depth examination of use and barriers to access of health services in Australia according to remoteness.MethodsA cohort of Australian adults prescribed pharmaceutical opioids for chronic non-cancer pain (n = 1,235) were interviewed between August 2012 and April 2014, and grouped into 'major city' (49%), 'inner regional' (37%), and 'outer regional/remote' (14%) according to the Australian Standard Geographical Classification based on postcode. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine geographical differences in socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, health service use, and perceived barriers to health service access.ResultsThe 'inner regional group' and 'outer regional/remote group' were more likely to be male (relative risk ratio (RRR)=1.38,95%CI 1.08-1.77 and RRR = 1.60, 95%CI 1.14-2.24) and have no private health insurance (RRR = 1.53, 95%CI 1.19-1.97 and RRR = 1.65, 95%CI 1.16-2.37) than the 'major city group' (49%). However, the 'inner regional group' reported lower pain severity and better mental health relative to the 'major city group' = 0.92, 95%CI 0.86-0.98 and RRR = 1.02, 95%CI 1.01-1.03, respectively). Although rates of health service access were generally similar, the 'outer regional/remote group' were more likely to report client-practitioner communication problems (RRR = 1.57, 95%CI 1.03-2.37), difficulties accessing specialists (RRR = 1.56, 95%CI 1.01-2.39), and perception of practitioner lack of confidence in prescribing pain medication (RRR = 1.73, 1.14-2.62), relative to both groups.ConclusionPerceived communication, access, and financial barriers to healthcare indicate the need for increased efforts to address geographic inequality in pain treatment.© 2016 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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