Project Details
Description
Persistent pain effects 30-50% of the UK and is the biggest cause of disability. Public misconceptions about pain are common and a significant barrier to good management leading to the development and maintenance of the condition. This project is seeking to address these public misconceptions by improving public understanding through Storytelling. We will organise Digital Storytelling workshops to support the co-creation of short films in which participants will reflect on their pain journey. These films will be shared at public events and on online platforms to increase public awareness on pain management by amplifying lived and living experiences of pain.
Why is it needed?
The Flippin’ Pain campaign – a key partner of this project - is both a national and regional award-winning public health campaign, collaborating with Teesside University to improve public understanding. The campaign has reached over 100,000 people through public engagement activities, but it has struggled to engage with people from more disadvantaged communities. This project will help to address this problem the campaign has been having.
Why does it matter?
Persistent pain disproportionately impacts upon people from disadvantaged communities. They would most benefit from the messages in the campaign but, inadvertently because the campaign has not been able to engage them yet, this could lead to wider health inequalities because better off communities are more likely to engage and thus more likely to benefit. Digital Storytelling will offer an additional approach to expand the reach of the campaign by creating a safe, accessible and inclusive space for often excluded communities and individuals by collectively reframing ways of listening and mutual learning.
Who is it for?
This project is for the general public but has a specific focus on people from disadvantaged communities (e.g. people living in areas of lower socioeconomic rating [as rated by the Index of multiple deprivation] and people from minoritised groups). People with persistent pain, or individuals living with people who have been affected by persistent pain are more like to engage, however given the preventive nature of the project we also seek to engage with those who do not have persistent pain.
How will the project work?
Working collaboratively, using a combination of digital and participatory storytelling techniques, the team will co-produce a piece of theatre and a collection of short films based on the lives of people with lived experience of pain whose lives were radically positively changed by better understanding their pain. Through these stories the key pain science messages of the campaign will be communicated in a targeted way to the general public, especially those from disadvantaged communities, in a manner that fosters greater engagement and interaction with the scientific content than traditional public science communications strategies.
Why is it needed?
The Flippin’ Pain campaign – a key partner of this project - is both a national and regional award-winning public health campaign, collaborating with Teesside University to improve public understanding. The campaign has reached over 100,000 people through public engagement activities, but it has struggled to engage with people from more disadvantaged communities. This project will help to address this problem the campaign has been having.
Why does it matter?
Persistent pain disproportionately impacts upon people from disadvantaged communities. They would most benefit from the messages in the campaign but, inadvertently because the campaign has not been able to engage them yet, this could lead to wider health inequalities because better off communities are more likely to engage and thus more likely to benefit. Digital Storytelling will offer an additional approach to expand the reach of the campaign by creating a safe, accessible and inclusive space for often excluded communities and individuals by collectively reframing ways of listening and mutual learning.
Who is it for?
This project is for the general public but has a specific focus on people from disadvantaged communities (e.g. people living in areas of lower socioeconomic rating [as rated by the Index of multiple deprivation] and people from minoritised groups). People with persistent pain, or individuals living with people who have been affected by persistent pain are more like to engage, however given the preventive nature of the project we also seek to engage with those who do not have persistent pain.
How will the project work?
Working collaboratively, using a combination of digital and participatory storytelling techniques, the team will co-produce a piece of theatre and a collection of short films based on the lives of people with lived experience of pain whose lives were radically positively changed by better understanding their pain. Through these stories the key pain science messages of the campaign will be communicated in a targeted way to the general public, especially those from disadvantaged communities, in a manner that fosters greater engagement and interaction with the scientific content than traditional public science communications strategies.
| Status | Active |
|---|---|
| Effective start/end date | 1/04/25 → 15/03/26 |
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