Trustworthiness in pain research is essential. Developing and implementing the ENTRUST-PE framework

Trustworthy pain research is essential for developing a deeper understanding of the phenomena, how it is experienced, its many impacts and how it might be reduced, prevented or managed to improve the lives of those who live with pain. Recognising multiple critical challenges that undermine trust in health research, an international, interdisciplinary network was convened to create an integrated framework for enhancing the trustworthiness of research in pain. The ENTRUST-PE framework was launched in 2024 with a call to action, proposing that trustworthiness in pain research is multidimensional and underpinned by 7 Core Values: Integrity and Governance; Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity; Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement; Methodological Rigour; Openness and Transparency; Balanced Communication and Data Authenticity. The framework includes specific recommendations for a range of interest holders and resources to support those recommendations. In this paper, we summarise the framework, reflect on the response to the framework from the pain research community, consider challenges and opportunities in the evolving research landscape and suggest how we might move towards deeper implementation to enhance the trustworthiness of pain research.