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Background and Aims The present review provides a comprehensive overview of global health collaborations between high-resource settings (HRS) and low-resource settings (LRS) in musculoskeletal pain management. The review examines the research methodology of the included studies, barriers to conducting global health work, and impact of global health collaborations.

Methods A preliminary search was conducted through PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane in 2023. Inclusion criteria required a clear collaboration between HRS and LRS, a primary focus on pain management, and original research either assessing baseline needs or implementing interventions aimed at improving capacity at the LRS. Of 83 studies found through the initial search, only two studies met the inclusion criteria.

Results One included study assessed the knowledge of pain mechanisms in nursing schools between Australia and the Philippines by seeking factual responses from participants. Another study, a collaboration between European countries, undertook a cross-sectional examination of pain education among medical students to find that pain education was viewed as a marginal and a non-essential topic.

Conclusions There is interest in the education of pain, indicating an awareness-based approach to current research. However, efforts to establish global health collaborations across regions and specialties in global health are largely uncoordinated, adding to existing pervasive barriers including resource disparities, inadequate awareness and education, stigma or cultural beliefs, regulatory and ethical challenges, data accessibility and quality, and healthcare system fragmentation. The present study emphasizes the urgency for original research implementing impactful and sustainable global health frameworks of care in pain management.