A child’s expression of pain experiences is complex, and related to social and cultural factors. Our research shows that the way Indigenous children’s pain is assessed and treated by non-Indigenous health care providers can be ineffective, and have a range of far-reaching negative effects.
Our research embraces the strengths of Indigenous and Western knowledge, using the Two-Eyed Seeing approach. Two-Eyed Seeing embodies both Indigenous and Western world views, acknowledging that no single perspective is better.
The ACHH’s ultimate goal is to gather and combine traditional and Western knowledge to better understand how Indigenous children’s pain is experienced, expressed, interpreted, assessed and treated.
The Kids Hurt App will allow children to articulate their pain and hurt through stories and descriptions, while remaining stoic in their pain expression.
In 2008, Dr. Margot Latimer and Dr. Allen Finley of the IWK Health Complex Pain Team noticed something startling; only an estimated two out of 800 children referred to the Centre in its 17-year history were Indigenous.
The ACHH Initiative is looking for financial support for its ongoing research. The team is hoping to expand the scope of the research to include more Indigenous communities and provide more educational and training resources for health clinicians.