Tell me your dreams and goals: Structuring communication exchanges to improve patient-centered care with chronic pain patients.

BACKGROUND: Communicating pain is a difficult endeavor due to the lack of observable pathology, the immeasurable nature of pain, and the presence of comorbid symptoms. While research has shown the value of cure-centered and care-centered communication, it is unclear how chronic pain patients would like to structure pain communication with their providers so that it produces pain disclosure and emotional support. Aim This study examines communication preferences of chronic pain patients including types of questions asked and information received to allow a holistic portrayal of the experience of living with chronic pain. DESIGN: The research used a quantitative survey that was disseminated via online chronic pain devoted support groups. PARTICIPANTS: 192 respondents took the survey, with women respondents outnumbering men at a 4:1 ratio. Respondents came from 38 states and represented eight countries. RESULTS: For providers to better understand patients' chronic pain, results indicate they would like providers to inquire about how pain impacts their daily activities, relationships, work responsibilities, and goals and dreams using open-ended questions. These low-stake questions can facilitate emotional disclosure, increase feelings of support, and allow for co-morbid linkages. CONCLUSION: These inquiries prioritize patients' own subjective knowledge, can deepen the communication exchange between provider and patient, and facilitate pain disclosure. The findings help to deliver patient-centered care, promote rapport, and foster trust between providers and their patients.

Dance Your Heart Out: A Community's Approach to Addressing Cardiovascular Health by Using a Logic Model.

Cardiovascular health has been identified as a prioritized community health need according to recent community health needs assessment data. While the Affordable Care Act mandates that nonprofit hospitals conduct a community health needs assessment, little guidance exists on how to address the identified needs. Logic models provide systematic structure and necessary direction in how communities can start to address their identified health needs. Completing logic models in a nonlinear fashion is encouraged to employ a strengths-based approach and verify the logic. This article provides an application of logic models as one strategy to generate a community-based program theory to improve cardiovascular health.

The power of the context map: Designing realistic outcome evaluation strategies and other unanticipated benefits.

Developing a feasible evaluation plan is challenging when multiple activities, often sponsored by multiple agencies, work together toward a common goal. Often, resources are limited and not every agency's interest can be represented in the final evaluation plan. The article illustrates how the Antecedent Target Measurement (ATM) approach to logic modeling was adapted to meet this challenge. The key adaptation is the context map generated in the first step of the ATM approach. The context map makes visually explicit many of the underlying conditions contributing to a problem as possible. The article also shares how a prioritization matrix can assist the evaluator in filtering through the context map to prioritize the outcomes to be included in the final evaluation plan as well as creating realistic outcomes. This transparent prioritization process can be especially helpful in managing evaluation expectations of multiple agencies with competing interests. Additional strategic planning benefits of the context map include pinpointing redundancies caused by overlapping collaborative efforts, identifying gaps in coverage, and assisting the coordination of multiple stakeholders.

Conducting Community Health Needs Assessments in rural communities: lessons learned.

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 requires all nonprofit hospitals in the United States to conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) at least every 3 years. With this law in its infancy, the best practice to conduct an assessment that complies with the law is unknown. Research designs vary across states and agencies, and little is known about the reliability or representativeness of results. The rural community group model (RCGM) is a newly developed model designed for conducting assessments in rural communities. Key components of the model are disseminating surveys, conducting key informant interviews, facilitating focus groups, and integrating secondary data of county-level health behaviors and outcomes. It has been used to conduct CHNAs on more than half the critical access hospitals in North Dakota (58%). Given this large sample size, which used the same methodology, this article provides an evaluation of the model focusing on lessons learned and challenges encountered in the conduct of CHNAs. Particular strategies for assessment planners are warding off group think, monitoring against bias creep in data collection, and integrating multiple data sources to inform decision making. The model is recommended for replication in rural settings to provide meaningful feedback that allows a hospital to match long-term planning with community needs.

Cyberhugs: creating a voice for chronic pain sufferers through technology.

Chronic pain is a pervasive and expensive public health problem affecting roughly one-third of the American population. The inability of language to accurately convey pain expressions combined with the social stigmas associated with discussing pain persuade many sufferers to remain silent about their pain. Gender politics and fear of professional repercussions further encourage silence. This article explores the need for a safe and secure place for chronic pain sufferers to talk of their pain experiences. The extent to which digital communication technology can fulfill this need is examined. This descriptive study examines the use of one online chronic pain management workshop for its ability to create an engaged community of choice. Workshop admittance was based on participants having a qualifying chronic pain condition. A thematic discourse analysis is conducted of all entries chronic pain participants posted. In addition to goal setting, participants discuss the ways in which pain affects them on a daily basis. Two themes emerge: validation and encouragement. This study suggests that chronic pain users need a discursive space to legitimate their chronic pain identity. It confirms that online websites and virtual audiences facilitate disclosure and allow for authentic communication. The benefits of computer-mediated discussion as well as its limitations are examined.