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Updated: Sep 4, 2025
An Experimental Paradigm for the Prediction of Post-Operative Pain PPOP
Published on: January 27, 2010
Design and implementation of a novel patient-centered empowerment approach for pain optimisation in children
Vidya Chidambaran1, Blair Simpson2,3, Laura Brower4
1Department of Anesthesiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA vidya.chidambaran@cchmc.org.
Insights
This study used design thinking to create personalized tools for children undergoing surgery, improving their perioperative pain experience. The "hero
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Surgery
- Patient-Centered Care
- Design Thinking Methodology
Background:
- Paediatric surgery presents significant stress for patients and caregivers.
- Standardised protocols often overlook individual patient needs for optimal perioperative pain management.
- A patient-centred approach is crucial for empowering families and enhancing surgical outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To address the gap in patient-centred care for paediatric surgical patients.
- To utilize design thinking (DT) methodology to develop individualized empowerment tools.
- To optimize the perioperative pain experience for children undergoing surgery.
Main Methods:
- Employed a multidisciplinary team including healthcare providers, patients, and caregivers.
- Conducted the study in two 24-week stages involving 7 families in stage 1 and 16 patients/17 caregivers in stage 2.
- Utilized surveys, interviews, focus groups, design research, concept ideation, and refinement.
Main Results:
- Identified key stress and anxiety peaks to target interventions.
- Highlighted the need for consistent healthcare team messaging and identified influencing factors.
- Conceptualized tailored educational and empowerment toolkits based on sensorial, thinking, relaxation, and activity themes.
Conclusions:
- Design thinking provided unique family-centered insights for creating personalized empowerment toolkits.
- These toolkits aim to optimize the perioperative experience for paediatric surgical patients.
- Adapting the 'hero's journey' narrative can enhance motivation and resilience in children facing surgery.
Background:
Paediatric surgery is a stressful experience for patients and caregivers. While standardised protocols are the norm, patient-centred approaches are needed to empower patients/caregivers for an optimal perioperative pain experience. To address this gap, we employed a patient-centred approach using design thinking (DT) methodology to develop insights, map processes, identify opportunities and design solutions for individualised empowerment tools.
Methods:
In consultation with DT experts, a multidisciplinary team of stakeholders (healthcare providers, patients who underwent pectus excavatum/scoliosis surgery and their caregivers), were invited to participate in surveys, interviews and focus groups. The project was conducted in two sequential stages each over 24 weeks-involving 7 families in stage 1 and 16 patients/17 caregivers in stage 2. Each stage consisted of three phases: design research (focus groups with key stakeholders to review and apply collective learnings, map processes, stressors, identify influencing factors and opportunities), concept ideation (benchmarking and co-creation of new solutions) and concept refinement.
Results:
In stage 1, mapping of stress/anxiety peaks identified target intervention times. We identified positive and negative influencers as well as the need for consistent messaging from the healthcare team in our design research. Current educational tools were benchmarked, parent-child engagement dyads determined and healthcare-based technology-based solutions conceived. The 'hero's journey' concept which has been applied to other illness paradigms for motivation successfully the was adapted to describe surgery as a transformative experience. In stage 2, patient and caregiver expectations, distinct personas and responses to perioperative experience were categorised. Educational tools and an empowerment tool kit based on sensorial, thinking, relaxation and activity themes, tailored to parent/child categories were conceptualised.
Conclusion:
DT methodology provided novel family centred insights, enabling design of tailored empowerment toolkits to optimise perioperative experience. Adapting the hero's journey call to adventure may motivate and build resilience among children undergoing surgery.
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