A joint partnership with Dr Vasilis Vasiliou, Clinical Psychologist, Post Doctorate Researcher, UCC School of Applied Psychology and Chronic Pain Ireland is well underway. Our aim is to develop and establish an against-stigma self-care programme, delivered to local communities. So in January 2021 we moved to Phase II, our aims to develop a group of volunteers with chronic pain to co-develop the ASpida self-care protocol (public and patient involvement (PPI)).
About the programme
ASpida is a research development program, run in collaboration with the School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork (UCC) and Chronic Pain Ireland. The program aspires to reduce stigma by engaging community-based individuals with chronic pain in co-developing an against-stigma, self-care program, delivered to local communities. During Phase II of the project we develop a Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) group of individuals that will participate as co‐researchers in a joint effort to form a ½ day face-to-face, group-based intervention. Members of the PPI group will be offered to become involved in a programmatic line of research to : (a) assist the research team in creating more robust data collection; (b) co-facilitate focus groups to understand how individuals with chronic pain experience stigma; and (c) co-develop along with the research team the ASpida protocol. The PPI group will then facilitate the program to their local communities, and train others to deliver it, ensuring its sustainability. The above opportunity was offered to members of Chronic Pain Ireland who have the chance to voluntarily become one of the members of the PPI group that will develop the ASpida self-care program. During the whole duration of the program (14 months, beginning from January 2021) the PPI group will be meeting on-line and if permitted in-person (expenses will be covered) to support the activities of the ASpida project. Members of the PPI group do not need to have any previous experiences with research, just willing to attend a series of meeting and to give perspectives as someone with experience of chronic pain. Training will be offered by the research team in various disciplines relevant to the project issues.
