ABSTRACT
Pain science education (PSE) is an important component of pediatric pain care; however, access to services is limited. To disseminate pain science concepts on social media, we partnered with adolescents with chronic pain to codesign content. We engaged 7 adolescent codesigners (aged 13-18 years) with lived experience of chronic pain to take part in 4 codesign workshops. Codesigners actively contributed to the social media campaign by selecting the social media platform, dictating design principles, generating metaphors and language, and recommending changes to mock designs. Codesigners suggested expanding the intended audience of the campaign to include people without a lived experience of chronic pain, such as friends, family, and teachers, alongside targeting adolescents with chronic pain. We published 30 posts and 102 stories over an 18-week period on Instagram, which reached over 40,000 individuals. We evaluated codesigners' experience, where they reported having clear communication and necessary supports and information to participate; were able to share their ideas and felt they were heard; and felt their input was making a difference. The outputs of this campaign could be useful to guide the tailoring of other PSE content delivered by clinicians as part of clinical care. Future testing of the content generated in this codesign process could evaluate if it leads to meaningful changes in the lives of people with chronic pain. PERSPECTIVE: Researchers partnered with adolescents with chronic pain to codesign content for a social media campaign on PSE. Adolescent codesigners actively shaped the campaign direction, broadening its scope to reach diverse audiences. Our Instagram initiative reached over 40,000 individuals, indicating the potential for innovative educational approaches.
