SignPain: Facilitar a comunicação sobre a dor entre pacientes surdos e profissionais de saúde através de uma intervenção digital

The proposed research addresses significant challenges in healthcare disparities affecting deaf patients, focusing on enhancing pain communication between these patients and healthcare professionals. Pain communication is a critical issue, yet it is underrepresented in existing scientific discourse, despite its profound impact on the quality of healthcare received by deaf patients. Indeed, deaf individuals often face unique challenges in communication due to language barriers, cultural differences, and lack of accessibility to communication aids. This research aims to tackle the unique challenges in pain communication between the deaf community and healthcare professionals through digital technology. Such a novel approach not only aims to bridge communication gaps but also emphasises enhancing cultural competencies vital for effective pain management. By focusing on these objectives, this research significantly contributes to reducing pain care disparities and advocates for inclusive, culturally inclusive practices, ultimately elevating the standard of care for deaf individuals with pain. Furthermore, the objectives of this proposed research are forward-thinking, going beyond current advancements in pain literature. Drawing upon the social communication model of pain, SignPain focuses on the communicative/social features of pain. Specifically, we aim to: (1) explore the main communication barriers and facilitators in pain care from the perspectives of deaf patients and healthcare professionals. We will mostly focus on understanding the processes of encoding the pain experience into expressive behaviour and decoding expressive pain behaviour as well as the users’ needs and preferences regarding digital health interventions to facilitate pain communication. Insights gathered from this initial exploration will be crucial for informing the development of a tailored and co-designed digital intervention (SignPain), ensuring its relevance and effectiveness in addressing pain communication challenges; (2) develop the SignPain digital prototype, incorporating outputs from our previous studies to ensure that SignPain aligns with their specific needs and preferences, and (3) test feasibility, usefulness, accessibility, and perceived benefits of the SignPain prototype. There is a growing consensus that improving the effectiveness of health interventions relies on attention to their design and feasibility11. Thus, we will first assess the value of SignPain through a feasibility study. This research will serve as a cornerstone to inform the design of robust effectiveness studies in future research. Therefore, this phase will involve testing SignPain’s usability and its impact on pain communication interactions, as well as gauging users’ satisfaction and perceived benefits. Overall, these objectives are ambitious and groundbreaking as they bridge a critical gap in the scientific literature, introducing novel theoretical contributions. This project represents a collaborative endeavour, engaging researchers across diverse disciplines (psychology, nursing, computer science, human-computer interaction), marking a significant departure from traditional methodologies. By integrating insights from varied fields, the research aims to push the boundaries of knowledge and develop innovative solutions to the complex challenges deaf individuals face in pain communication with healthcare professionals.