Susan Verba and Sarah Perrault

About 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain—defined as any pain lasting more than 12 weeks—and our project seeks to address a number of problems associated with this reality by partnering with a nonprofit rural health center in Shasta County, California.

The Pain Project engages patient and provider communities in the participatory design of tools to help evaluate and better manage chronic pain; these tools invite discussion, create awareness about pain treatment options, encourage questions, help build trust, and work toward better health outcomes through shared decision-making.