Designing a multidisciplinary chronic pain clinic for adolescents

Happyr Health is a UK-based digital health company founded by two chronic pain patients. It is following a vision to bring wellbeing and health into the lives of adolescents with chronic pain.

Adolescents with chronic pain need to access information and interactive exercises not only for their physical health but equally for their emotional and social wellbeing. However, the NHS currently cannot provide the recommended support to all who need it. Throughout the country, only very few specialist clinics are available which are costly and inefficient for the NHS and the increasing demand year on year for these services cannot be met by paediatric clinics (Campbell, 2022; PICANet, 2021; RCPCH, 2019; Forster, 2017).

Utilising the Design Foundation competition funding, we are seeking to design an easily accessible and user-friendly digital pain clinic for adolescents suffering from migraine. Aim of the clinic is to give patients easy access to quality education about their disease, recommended self-care exercises and contact with migraine/pain experts. In a design research process together with the University of Stirling and the National Migraine Centre, we will identify the needs of adolescents with chronic pain, involve them directly for feedback and test the first prototype with users.

The project will be managed and conducted by Happyr Health, an established player in paediatric chronic pain management. Happyr Health's product portfolio to support adolescents with migraine includes the self-management app 'Tamer' (currently being evaluated in a study with the University of Stirling) and its online (\#1 in Healthcare @Udemy) pain management parent course. The proposed Design Foundations grant project is for six months and would enable the company to develop a high-fidelity prototype which will then be available for follow-on pilot projects.