Project Summary
The Relieving Pain in Kansas City patient-powered group is facilitated by the Center for Practical Bioethics (CPB), a nationally recognized organization leading work on chronic pain. The CPB convenes patients, caregivers, and healthcare leaders monthly from clinics across the Kansas City area to inform this work.
Responding to the emergence of Relieving Pain in Kansas City, a pilot community-based initiative and its patient-powered group, researchers at the University of Kansas and Children’s Mercy Hospital began to coalesce into a multidisciplinary, shared-interest group. Thirteen members (representing neurology, physical therapy, pharmacy, public health, chiropractic, family medicine, law, internal medicine, pediatrics, anthropology, and psychology) meet monthly as well.
The project will bridge the gap between the patient and investigator groups so that they work together to establish priority patient-centered projects. Using half-day sequential sessions, the group will use “future search” methods to lead the participants through a facilitated process to arrive at a common set of research priorities. The sessions include making timelines and a “mind map,” describing themes, completing action planning, and volunteering and assigning activities. In addition, the group will establish a governance and communication structure in anticipation of future Pipeline to Proposal opportunities.