Background & Aims

The use of opioids is part of the approach to chronic pain control, and the risk of abusive use can result in adverse events impacting patient safety. The use of technologies to promote education in patients with chronic pain is an important teaching and information tool for patients, contributing to their safety. Therefore, this research has as its product the OPI-APP application, an educational application for patients with chronic pain at risk of opioid abuse. The objective is develop an educational technology, in the form of an application for patients with chronic pain at risk of opioid abuse.

Methods

This is a methodological study, developed in four stages, from 2022 to 2024. In the first stage, a scoping review was carried out seeking evidence on technologies in the form of applications for patients with chronic pain, and risks for abusive use of opioids. The second stage consisted of applying an instrument to evaluate 20 patients with chronic pain during the nursing consultation. In the third stage, the application’s technological framework was built using the Software Engineering approach and the Spiral Life Cycle with Prototyping. Based on usage scenarios, a Flowchart was developed to assist in the creation of layouts that were developed on the Figma Platform, and the application contents were created. In the fourth stage, the application’s usability evaluation was carried out with patients with chronic pain at risk of opioid abuse who were evaluated in the second stage of the study. 16 patients responded to this stage.

Results

The pain profile of the participating patients revealed that 85% were female, with an average of 6.35 for pain intensity and 13.95 for pain duration. All patients were using opioid medications, and 60% of these were able to identify them among the medications they were taking. Regarding the educational application, 100% suggested that it addressed chronic pain and risks of opioid misuse and 85% suggested the use of opioid medications and side effects. In the third stage, the application was built and initially made available for Android. The screens and structure, logo, colors, texts and illustrations were defined. The System Usability Scale Questionnaire instrument was applied with 16 patients who participated in the first nursing consultation.The usability evaluation score had a median of 95 points, indicating the best classification imaginable. Suggestions for improvement have been addressed and the application is being improved.

Conclusions

The research showed the construction of the educational application Opi-App for patients with chronic pain at risk of opioid abuse by surveying their pain profile and preferences for health education, as well as evaluating the usability of the application. The research also provided the development of an instrument for the assessment of patients with chronic pain, which is configured as a Nursing Consultation script for pain management.

References

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https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001939
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Presenting Author

Lucielena Maria de Sousa Garcia Soares

Poster Authors

Lucielena Maria de Sousa Garcia Soares

Master Student

Universidade Federal Fluminense

Lead Author

E-mail

Érica Brandão de Moraes

Federal Fluminense University

Lead Author

E-mail

Flávio Luiz Seixas

Federal Fluminense University

Lead Author

E-mail

Alexandre Porto do Nascimento

Federal Fluminense University

Lead Author

E-mail

Topics

  • Education