Visualizations to Improve Pain Communication Between Patients, Interpreters, and Providers

University of Wisconsin (UW)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Communication; Pain

Treatments: Other: InfoViz

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT04975789

1K23NR019289-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Protocol Approved 10/11/21 (Other Identifier)

A545000 (Other Identifier)

2020-1256

NUR/FACULTY AFFAIRS/ADMIN (Other Identifier)

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to pilot test a pain assessment information visualization (InfoViz) tool to facilitate communication about pain severity, location, and quality to increase mutual understanding between patients with limited English proficiency (LEP), interpreters, and providers during pain assessment. 40 participants will be enrolled and can expect to be on study for up to 4 weeks.

Full description

The purpose of this study is to pilot test a pain assessment information visualization (InfoViz) tool to facilitate communication about pain severity, location, and quality to increase mutual understanding between patients with limited English proficiency (LEP), interpreters, and providers during pain assessment.

The investigators focus on the LEP Hmong because pain is particularly problematic for this group. The Hmong describe pain using visual metaphors that are inconsistent with providers' knowledge and interpreters struggle to translate metaphors accurately between patients and providers. The goals of the study are (1) to examine the feasibility of implementing the pain InfoViz tool, (2) to explore congruency of patient-interpreter-provider triads' mutual understanding (MU) of pain severity, location, and quality, and (3) to evaluate outcome measures selected to capture satisfaction with communication, pain relief, and pain interference with life and explore variables identified in the InfoViz tool conceptual framework (MU of pain assessment information, satisfaction with communication, pain diagnosis and treatment).

The investigators will first collect data from 20 participants under the usual care control condition (i.e., interpreters verbally interpreting and communicating pain descriptions), followed by data collection from another 20 participants under the intervention condition (i.e., interpreters using verbal descriptions and the InfoViz tool).

The investigators believe that the pain assessment InfoViz tool will increase mutual understanding of pain severity, location, and quality between patients, interpreters, and providers, and consequently lead to increased satisfaction with communication, greater pain relief and reduced pain interference with daily life through better-informed diagnosis and treatment.

Enrollment: 61 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 13+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• age 18 and up
• Hmong patients that indicate they do not speak English well (LEP)
• self reported pain

Exclusion criteria

• indicate that they speak English well

Interpreter Inclusion Criteria:

• 13 years old or greater
• self-identify as interpreting for a Hmong individual in the health care setting

Interpreter Exclusion Criteria:

• telephone interpreters as they are unable to view and use the InfoViz tool

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Sequential Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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61 participants in 2 patient groups

Usual Care Control

No Intervention group

Description:

Standard of Care

InfoViz Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

Pain information visualization (InfoViz) tool, Trained interpreters will use the InfoViz tool twice, before and during the clinical encounter

Treatment:

Other: InfoViz