A Historical Review of Pain Disparities Research: Advancing Toward Health Equity and Empowerment

Overview

Journal Nurs Outlook

Specialty Nursing

Date 2023 Apr 6

PMID 37023670

Authors

Staja Q Booker

Tamara A Baker

Darlingtina Esiaka

Jacquelyn A Minahan

Ilana J Engel

Kasturi Banerjee

Michaela Poitevien

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background And Purpose: This theory-guided review draws on 30 years of published data to examine and interrogate the current and future state of pain disparities research.

Methods: Using the Hierarchy of Health Disparity Research framework, we synthesize and present an overview of "three generations" of pain disparities scholarship, while proposing directions for adopting a "fourth generation" that redefines, explains, and theorizes future pain disparities research in a diverse society.

Discussion: Prior research has focused on describing the scope of disparities, and throughout the historical context of human existence, racialized groups have been subjected to inadequate pain care. It is imperative that research not only illuminates existing problems but also provides solutions that can be implemented and sustained across varying social milieus.

Conclusion: We must invest in new theoretical models that expand on current perspectives and ideals that position all individuals at the forefront of justice and equity in their health.

Citing Articles

Changes in Widespread Pain After Surgical Weight Loss in Racialized Adults: A Secondary Analysis From a 2-Year Longitudinal Study.

Merriwether E, Vanegas S, Curado S, Zhou B, Mun C, Younger O J Pain. 2024; 25(11):104625.

PMID: 39002743 PMC: 11486608. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2024.104625.

Attending to Marginalization in The Chronic Pain Literature: A Scoping Review.

Connoy L, Solomon M, Longo R, Sud A, Katz J, Dale C Can J Pain. 2024; 8(2):2335500.

PMID: 38831969 PMC: 11146439. DOI: 10.1080/24740527.2024.2335500.

Secondary analysis: heat and self-report pain sensitivity associate with biological sex and racialized sociocultural group but may not be mediated by anxiety or pain catastrophizing.

Meeker T, Kim H, Tulloch I, Keaser M, Seminowicz D, Dorsey S Pain Rep. 2024; 9(1):e1133.

PMID: 38283650 PMC: 10811695. DOI: 10.1097/PR9.0000000000001133.

From stepping stones to scaling mountains: overcoming racialized disparities in pain management.

Booker S, Merriwether E, Powell-Roach K, Jackson S Pain Manag. 2024; 14(1):5-12.

PMID: 38193345 PMC: 10825727. DOI: 10.2217/pmt-2023-0098.

Addressing chronic pain disparities between Black and White people: a narrative review of socio-ecological determinants.

Pham T, Doorley J, Kenney M, Joo J, Shallcross A, Kincade M Pain Manag. 2023; 13(8):473-496.

PMID: 37650756 PMC: 10621777. DOI: 10.2217/pmt-2023-0032.

References

Craig K, Holmes C, Hudspith M, Moor G, Moosa-Mitha M, Varcoe C . Pain in persons who are marginalized by social conditions. Pain. 2019; 161(2):261-265. PMC: 6970566. DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001719. View

Portenoy R, Ugarte C, Fuller I, Haas G . Population-based survey of pain in the United States: differences among white, African American, and Hispanic subjects. J Pain. 2004; 5(6):317-28. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2004.05.005. View

Meghani S, Cho E . Self-reported pain and utilization of pain treatment between minorities and nonminorities in the United States. Public Health Nurs. 2009; 26(4):307-16. DOI: 10.1111/j.1525-1446.2009.00785.x. View

Hardeman R, Medina E, Kozhimannil K . Structural Racism and Supporting Black Lives - The Role of Health Professionals. N Engl J Med. 2016; 375(22):2113-2115. PMC: 5588700. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1609535. View

Gastelum Strozzi A, Pelaez-Ballestas I, Granados Y, Burgos-Vargas R, Quintana R, Londono J . Syndemic and syndemogenesis of low back pain in Latin-American population: a network and cluster analysis. Clin Rheumatol. 2020; 39(9):2715-2726. DOI: 10.1007/s10067-020-05047-x. View

Samulowitz A, Gremyr I, Eriksson E, Hensing G . "Brave Men" and "Emotional Women": A Theory-Guided Literature Review on Gender Bias in Health Care and Gendered Norms towards Patients with Chronic Pain. Pain Res Manag. 2018; 2018:6358624. PMC: 5845507. DOI: 10.1155/2018/6358624. View

Booker S . African Americans' Perceptions of Pain and Pain Management: A Systematic Review. J Transcult Nurs. 2014; 27(1):73-80. DOI: 10.1177/1043659614526250. View

Nahin R, Sayer B, Stussman B, Feinberg T . Eighteen-Year Trends in the Prevalence of, and Health Care Use for, Noncancer Pain in the United States: Data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. J Pain. 2019; 20(7):796-809. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2019.01.003. View

Goosby B . Early life course pathways of adult depression and chronic pain. J Health Soc Behav. 2013; 54(1):75-91. PMC: 3733784. DOI: 10.1177/0022146512475089. View

10.

Booker S, Baker T, Epps F, Herr K, Young H, Fishman S . Interrupting Biases in the Experience and Management of Pain. Am J Nurs. 2022; 122(9):48-54. DOI: 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000874120.95373.40. View

11.

Evans M, Bazargan M, Cobb S, Assari S . Pain Intensity among Community-Dwelling African American Older Adults in an Economically Disadvantaged Area of Los Angeles: Social, Behavioral, and Health Determinants. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019; 16(20). PMC: 6843192. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16203894. View

12.

Haywood Jr C, Diener-West M, Strouse J, Carroll C, Bediako S, Lanzkron S . Perceived discrimination in health care is associated with a greater burden of pain in sickle cell disease. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2014; 48(5):934-43. PMC: 4198520. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2014.02.002. View

13.

Akintobi T, Hopkins J, Holden K, Hefner D, Taylor Jr H . T ™: An Approach and Philosophy to Advance Translation to Transformation. Ethn Dis. 2019; 29(Suppl 2):349-354. PMC: 6604776. DOI: 10.18865/ed.29.S2.349. View

14.

Woodrow K, Friedman G, SIEGELAUB A, Collen M . Pain tolerance: differences according to age, sex and race. Psychosom Med. 1972; 34(6):548-56. DOI: 10.1097/00006842-197211000-00007. View

15.

Lee P, Le Saux M, Siegel R, Goyal M, Chen C, Ma Y . Racial and ethnic disparities in the management of acute pain in US emergency departments: Meta-analysis and systematic review. Am J Emerg Med. 2019; 37(9):1770-1777. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajem.2019.06.014. View

16.

Kuehnert P, Fawcett J, DePriest K, Chinn P, Cousin L, Ervin N . Defining the social determinants of health for nursing action to achieve health equity: A consensus paper from the American Academy of Nursing. Nurs Outlook. 2021; 70(1):10-27. DOI: 10.1016/j.outlook.2021.08.003. View

17.

Gatchel R, Peng Y, Peters M, Fuchs P, Turk D . The biopsychosocial approach to chronic pain: scientific advances and future directions. Psychol Bull. 2007; 133(4):581-624. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.133.4.581. View

18.

Tankwanchi A . Oppression, liberation, wellbeing, and ecology: organizing metaphors for understanding health workforce migration and other social determinants of health. Global Health. 2018; 14(1):81. PMC: 6085714. DOI: 10.1186/s12992-018-0397-y. View

19.

Ali J, Davis A, Burgess D, Rhon D, Vining R, Young-McCaughan S . Justice and equity in pragmatic clinical trials: Considerations for pain research within integrated health systems. Learn Health Syst. 2022; 6(2):e10291. PMC: 9006531. DOI: 10.1002/lrh2.10291. View

20.

Burgess D, Gravely A, Nelson D, Van Ryn M, Bair M, Kerns R . A national study of racial differences in pain screening rates in the VA health care system. Clin J Pain. 2012; 29(2):118-23. DOI: 10.1097/AJP.0b013e31826a86ae. View