Making Pain Research More Inclusive: Why and How

Area of Science:

• Pain research
• Health equity
• Clinical study design

Background:

• Current pain research often excludes diverse populations, limiting generalizability.
• Underrepresentation in studies hinders understanding of pain mechanisms and intervention effectiveness across groups.
• Inclusive practices are essential for equitable benefits from pain research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide guidance for the pain research community on adopting inclusive research practices.
• To define "inclusion" broadly, encompassing race, ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and age.
• To promote socially just, scientifically productive pain research responsive to all individuals.

Main Methods:

• Describing principles for promoting inclusion in pain research.
• Highlighting stakeholder engagement, structural factors, intersectionality, and universal design.
• Providing checklists with practical strategies for inclusive study design and implementation.

Main Results:

• Principles for inclusive pain research identified, including stakeholder engagement and universal design.
• Practical strategies and checklists offered for each stage of the research process.
• Emphasis on system-level changes to foster social justice in pain research.

Conclusions:

• Adopting inclusive practices is vital for the validity and applicability of pain research findings.
• System-level changes are necessary to ensure pain research benefits all population subgroups equitably.
• Future pain research must be socially just, scientifically robust, and inclusive of diverse populations.