Engaging with Black Communities in Southampton: a co-creation understanding of living well with pain.

Black people in Southampton have more pain because of Musculoskeletal conditions than other groups. Many of them also live with other challenges such as poverty, poor housing, and unemployment, which all are known to make living with pain harder. In a previous study we worked closely with people living with persistent musculoskeletal pain to understand what helps them best, and what gets in the way of living well with pain. We developed a treatment (De-Stress Pain) which helps patients increase their activities, to improve their well-being. It is different from other treatments because it shifts the focus away from pain. Our approach combines a coach who helps people choose personalised activities, and a website, which helps them understand why making changes might help them, and what is available in their location and within their time and budget. However, to date we had no engagement with the Black community- nationally or in Southampton. This is particularly important because we know that Black people in Southampton use less care for their pain than other groups- only half of what they are offered. We will go into the community and discuss with people living with pain what helps them to live well and how they can be supported better. We will introduce people to De-Stress Pain and make changes to make it more suitable. We will invite around 20 people to try the treatment out, and to tell us what works and what doesn’t for them. This is needed before we go to a full trial of the treatment, to make sure that Black people are fully included in treatment choices and in research. Our team includes people living with pain, people from local health services, champions of equality and social justice, and researchers.