"He told me my pain was in my head": mitigating testimonial injustice through peer support.

Introduction: Women with disabilities are exposed to sexism and ableism, earn less income, and work in exceptionally challenging conditions compared to women without disabilities and men with or without disabilities. Adolescent girls living with scoliosis may begin experiencing this compounding bias during their encounters with healthcare from the moment they start noticing differences in their bodies. Being significantly more likely than boys to progress to a curve angle where painful treatment such as bracing or spinal fusion surgery is required, adolescent girls living with scoliosis are therefore more likely to experience chronic pain. The long-term impact of pain and pain-related stigma includes lower educational attainments, decreased vocational functionality, and social impairments in adults after having experienced chronic pain in adolescence. Approach: In this article, the authors will explore the effects and mechanisms of gender-specific peer support in disrupting this trajectory to adverse outcomes. Through individual interviews consisting of open-ended questions, the researchers gathered narrative data from Curvy Girls members, a community-based peer support group for girls and young women living with scoliosis. The data was analyzed using an applied philosophical hermeneutics approach, with intersectionality and testimonial injustice as their framework. Findings: They found that the study participants had their pain narratives reinterpreted by the adults in their lives, including their parents and healthcare practitioners, leading them to question and doubt their own experiences. Discussion: These negative outcomes were mitigated through the peer support they received and offered from Curvy Girls. Participants reported having gained confidence and a sense of belonging after they joined this group, allowing them to better cope with their condition more effectively in different facets of their lives.

Reflecting back to move forward: Lessons learned about COVID-19 safety protocols from pediatric anesthesiologists.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic brought about the immediate need for enhanced safety protocols in health care centers. These protocols had to evolve as knowledge and understanding of the disease quickly broadened. AIMS: Through this study, the researchers aimed to understand the experiences of pediatric anesthesiologists at the Montreal Children's Hospital and the Shriners' Hospital Canada as they navigated the first wave of COVID-19 at their institutions. METHODS: Nine participants from the Montreal Children's Hospital and the Shriners' Hospital were interviewed. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and then analyzed using an applied philosophical hermeneutics approach. FINDINGS: Participants expressed their wish for simple and easy-to-apply protocols while recognizing the challenge of keeping up with evolving knowledge on the disease and its transmission. They pointed to some limitations and unintended consequences of the safety protocols and the system-wide flaws that the COVID-19 pandemic helped bring to light. They described their frustrations with some aspects of the safety protocols, which they at times felt could be more efficient or better suited for their daily practice. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study highlighted the importance of listening to and empowering anesthesiology staff working in the field during crises, the implications of shifting from patient-centered care to community-centered care, and the fine line between sharing as much emerging information as possible and overwhelming staff with information.

The Experiences of People Living With Chronic Pain During a Pandemic: "Crumbling Dreams With Uncertain Futures".

People living with chronic pain experience multiple challenges in their daily activities. Chronic pain is complex and often provokes life circumstances that create increased social isolation. Living with chronic pain during the pandemic may add additional layers of complexity to their daily lives. The researchers endeavored to explore the experiences of people living with chronic pain during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers conducted semi-structured, open-ended interviews about how the pandemic influenced participants' lives. The interviews were recorded and analyzed using an applied philosophical hermeneutics approach. The findings were feeling socially isolated, losing their sense of livinghood, and experiencing augmented stress levels which, in most cases, aggravated their chronic pain. In addition to gaining an in-depth understanding of the needs of people living with chronic pain, these findings may guide policy decisions with the intention of improving health care access and the overall experiences of people living with chronic conditions during a pandemic.

A Reconceptualization of the Negative Self-Stereotyping of the Patient-Partner to the Introduction of the Patient Perspective Consultant.

The label of "patient-partner" is widely used when referring to a person living with a specific health condition that participates in research teams or consults on clinical practice guidelines. However, being a patient-partner says nothing about one's potential role outside a biomedical context. Labeling a person as such can be detrimental to their perception of themselves. The intention of this paper is to provide a philosophical conceptual framework to understand the complexities and consequences of labeling people as patients outside of direct healthcare. A philosophical hermeneutic approach was used to explore how labeling and self-stereotyping can affect the patient-partner, leading to the possible erosion of their personhood. The authors suggest that research teams instead employ the more accurate and dignified term, "patient perspective consultant." Accurate titles allow team members to relate to each other, leaving room for everyone to contribute meaningfully. The shift from patient-partner to patient perspective consultant does not change the nature of the role. It clarifies the context through increased accuracy, and adds dignity and purpose.