Defining Personas of People Living with Chronic Pain: An Ethnographic Research Study

Abstract

Melissa Cullens,1 Cyan James,1 Meran Liu,1 Amaresh Vydyanathan,2– 4 Naum Shaparin,3– 5 Michael Schatman,6,7 Jacob Hascalovici2,3,5,8 1Clearing Relief Labs Inc., New York City, NY, USA; 2Relief Medical Group P.A, New York City, NY, USA; 3Department of Anesthesiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA; 4Multidisciplinary Pain Program, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA; 5The Arthur S. Abramson Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA; 6Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care and Pain Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York City, NY, USA; 7Department of Population Health – Division of Medical Ethics, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York City, NY, USA; 8Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USACorrespondence: Jacob Hascalovici, Relief Medical Group P.A, 169 Madison Ave, Suite 2412, New York City, New York City, 10016, USA, Email [email protected]: 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.Keywords: chronic pain, personas, biopsychosocial, doctor–patient relationship

Keywords

• chronic pain
• personas
• biopsychosocial
• doctor-patient relationship