Grant: Doctoral Research Award - PA: Aboriginal Research Methodologies

One in five Canadians suffer from chronic pain. Epidemiological surveys in Canada indicate the prevalence of chronic pain is higher among Aboriginal (i.e. First-Nation, Metis, Inuit) populations. This is consistent with the broader scientific literature revealing a large disparity in the health of Non-Aboriginal vs. Aboriginal individuals. Research suggests that the way in which people describe their pain may vary by race and ethnicity and that health care providers may react differently to pain reported by patients of varying racial and ethnic characteristics. However, the extent to which these issues contribute to worse pain and pain treatment among Aboriginal peoples remains relatively unexplored. The first goal of this research is to understand if there is a systematic difference in how Aboriginal vs. non-Aboriginal individuals describe their pain. The second goal is to assess if formal caregivers perceive pain differently in Aboriginal vs. non-Aboriginal individuals. In the first phase, a small sample of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal chronic pain suffers will be recruited from community health centers to take part in a brief qualitative interview about their pain experience. In the second phase, formal caregivers, nurses, will be recruited to participate in an online study. Participants will be presented with a random selection of medical case history vignettes, created based on the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal patients recruited in the first phase, and asked to report on the patient's pain intensity. Differences in treatment suggestions based on patient's ethnicity will be assessed. Related factors such as how empathy impacts caregiver's accuracy in pain assessment will be investigated. If a systematic difference exists in how Aboriginal vs. non-Aboriginal individuals describe their pain or how formal caregivers assess their pain, care for Aboriginal individuals can be improved by increasing Aboriginal cultural competence during professional training.