It's difficult to overstate the corrosive impact of Canada's ongoing opioid crisis. Since 2016, there have been over 40,000 opioid-related deaths across the country, devastating Canadian families from all walks of life. Opioid-related hospitalizations and calls to paramedics have ballooned.
New approaches for physicians and patients are urgently needed to help stem the tide of society's opioid use problems.
Now, a new collaboration involving the University of Ottawa takes a focused look at a recently developed patient toolkit designed to be a hub for opioid-related resources that's not only helping optimize therapeutic outcomes but also represents a paradigm shift about how projects like this should be undertaken.
A discussion paper published in the Patient Education and Counseling academic journal and a research report published in the Academic Medicine medical journal drill down on the Patient-Physician Partnership Toolkit , bilingual online modules intended to educate key players on opioid use and chronic pain. The toolkit was developed by the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) with funding support from Health Canada .
Unique co-creation
A hallmark of this ambitious toolkit is that its curriculum was co-created through an authentic collaboration between healthcare professionals and patients with lived experience, according to the paper's first author, Dr. K. Jean Chen of the uOttawa Faculty of Medicine. She was a core member of the team that created the new toolkit.
"This project wasn't just about opioid education; it was about shifting culture. It showed how we can – and should – learn with patients, not just about them," says Dr. Chen, the Faculty's Assistant Dean of Curriculum in Undergraduate Medical Education and Assistant Professor.
Indeed, one of the paper's reviewers described the project as a "unique model of co-creation" betweenhealthcare providers and patients. Since most existing toolkits focus on pharmacists, the reviewer said the team's method involved "a novel collaboration."
Dr. Chen says it is vitally important to involve patient "Subject Matter Experts" (SME's) to co-create chronic pain and opioid use-and-management resources. Why? It facilitates deeper learning, enhances communication, and bolsters trust and respect between physicians and patients.
"Patients bring real-life context that no textbook or lecture can fully capture," Dr. Chen says. "When they co-design with us, it keeps the education grounded in what actually matters to people living with chronic pain and those affected by opioid use, which then ensure that our material is not only clinically relevant but also compassionate and human-centred."
Unveiling truths and myths
Powerful insights from the project's patient partners included a nuanced understanding of how much stigma and shame continue to impact those seeking care for pain or substance use.
"This hits home the need for empathy and trust-building in every clinical interaction," Dr. Chen says.
She says another standout is the toolkit's "mythbusters" resource that challenges common misconceptions about opioid use and chronic pain. Patients helped the healthcare provider collaborators identify the most harmful and persistent myths, such as the assertion that individuals who are opioid dependent simply need better willpower.
"Their insights ensured that each 'mythbuster' wasn't just clinically accurate, but also empathetic and stigma-reducing," Dr. Chen says.
How specifically can this kind of overall approach improve how health professionals provide care related to opioid use and management during and after medical appointments?
"By hearing directly from patients during training, learners gain a deeper appreciation for what it's like to navigate pain, stigma, and healthcare all at once," Dr. Chen says. "This helps them ask better questions, listen more attentively, and avoid snap judgments, hopefully leading to care that's more respectful, safe, and effective."
Next steps for the research team are examining ways in which this overall approach can be embedded sustainably across the medical education continuum, according to Dr. Chen. That includes supporting faculty development to reinforce care principles across Canada.
