Developing a patient toolkit for opioid use and management through co-creation

• Published in: Patient education and counseling Vol. 133; p. 108632
• Main Authors: Chen, Kuan-chin Jean, Graves, Lisa, Soleas, Eleftherios, Jackson, Mathieu, Descoteaux, Annie, Balounaïck-Arowas, Vanessa, Strathearn, Nada, Van Hoorn, Rob, Cofie, Nicholas, Dalgarno, Nancy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier B.V 01.04.2025
• Subjects: Analgesics, Opioid - therapeutic use; Canada; Chronic Pain - drug therapy; Co-creation; Curriculum; Health Personnel - education; Healthcare; Humans; Opioid; Opioid-Related Disorders - prevention & control; Pain Management; Patient; Patient Education as Topic - methods; Physician-Patient Relations; Toolkit; Canada; Opioid; Patient; Healthcare; Toolkit; Co-creation
• ISSN: 0738-3991; 1873-5134; 1873-5134
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2024.108632

Canada has been experiencing an opioid use crisis, and urgent efforts are being made to stem the tide. With funding support from Health Canada, the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) recently developed a series of asynchronous online bilingual modules to educate key players across the medical education spectrum on chronic pain and opioid use. The curriculum for the modules which informed the development of the Patient-Physician Partnership Toolkit was co-created through an authentic collaboration between healthcare professionals (HCPs), and patient subject matter experts who were patients with lived experience. This discussion paper presents the methods and procedures employed in co-creating the patient toolkit with patient SMEs and presents the lessons learned for improving future partnerships. •The opioid crisis in Canada is still growing.•We present a newly developed, co-created online patient toolkit for patients and for physicians to address the opioid crisis.•The Patient-Physician Partnership Toolkit can serve as an effective teaching tool for learners in healthcare education and clinical settings.•It also works for clinicians as a just-in-time resource, by providing structured, interactive, and practical resources that facilitate deeper learning•It provides a more effective and authentic engagement with patients.