TY - JOUR
T1 - Defining Personas of People Living with Chronic Pain
T2 - An Ethnographic Research Study
AU - Cullens, Melissa
AU - James, Cyan
AU - Liu, Meran
AU - Vydyanathan, Amaresh
AU - Shaparin, Naum
AU - Schatman, Michael
AU - Hascalovici, Jacob
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Cullens et al.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Introduction: Pain is the leading reason for which people seek medical care in the United States, and chronic pain (CP) affects approximately 50 million people in the US Pain perception is deeply personal, is highly correlated with behavioral and emotional disorders, and is greatly influenced by physiological and environmental factors. The patient-provider relationship can have profound implications for clinical outcomes within the context of treating CP. However, limited access to pain specialists, the complex nature of many CP-causing conditions, the absence of instruments for objective pain measurement, and the need to foster a trust-based patient-provider relationship throughout treatment pose unique challenges. Objective: To support a more optimal CP care delivery system that leverages a healthy therapeutic patient-provider relationship, we systematically gathered deeper knowledge of the behaviors, interpersonal dynamics, home environment, values, and mindsets of people who experience CP. Methods: We employed ethnographic research methods to collect and analyze data on views, habits, strategies, attitudes, and life circumstances of a range of participants living with CP. We aggregated, analyzed, and summarized participant data to identify trends and similarities. Results: Our findings suggest that patients can be broadly categorized into five predominant pain typologies, or “personas”, which are characterized by respective symptom durations, care management preferences, values, communication styles, and behaviors. Conclusion: Identifying CP personas may enhance the ability to personalize CP care and help foster more robust therapeutic relationships, which may lead to greater trust, improved patient satisfaction, and better clinical outcomes.
AB - Introduction: Pain is the leading reason for which people seek medical care in the United States, and chronic pain (CP) affects approximately 50 million people in the US Pain perception is deeply personal, is highly correlated with behavioral and emotional disorders, and is greatly influenced by physiological and environmental factors. The patient-provider relationship can have profound implications for clinical outcomes within the context of treating CP. However, limited access to pain specialists, the complex nature of many CP-causing conditions, the absence of instruments for objective pain measurement, and the need to foster a trust-based patient-provider relationship throughout treatment pose unique challenges. Objective: To support a more optimal CP care delivery system that leverages a healthy therapeutic patient-provider relationship, we systematically gathered deeper knowledge of the behaviors, interpersonal dynamics, home environment, values, and mindsets of people who experience CP. Methods: We employed ethnographic research methods to collect and analyze data on views, habits, strategies, attitudes, and life circumstances of a range of participants living with CP. We aggregated, analyzed, and summarized participant data to identify trends and similarities. Results: Our findings suggest that patients can be broadly categorized into five predominant pain typologies, or “personas”, which are characterized by respective symptom durations, care management preferences, values, communication styles, and behaviors. Conclusion: Identifying CP personas may enhance the ability to personalize CP care and help foster more robust therapeutic relationships, which may lead to greater trust, improved patient satisfaction, and better clinical outcomes.
KW - biopsychosocial
KW - chronic pain
KW - doctor–patient relationship
KW - personas
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U2 - 10.2147/JPR.S420742
DO - 10.2147/JPR.S420742
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85168451830
SN - 1178-7090
VL - 16
SP - 2803
EP - 2816
JO - Journal of Pain Research
JF - Journal of Pain Research
ER -