Reflections on Epistemic Injustice to Advance Person-Centred Care Through the Experiences of Persons with Chronic Pain.

Rationale: Persons with chronic pain report that their voices are marginalized in healthcare, despite efforts to achieve person-centred care.

Aims and objectives: This study aims to explore the healthcare experiences of persons with chronic pain through the lens of epistemic injustice to advance person-centred care.

Method: A secondary analysis of cross-sectional interviews with twenty German-speaking Swiss participants, originally collected as part of the DIPEx Switzerland project, was conducted. Data were examined using thematic analysis.

Results: Results revealed two overarching themes. Under Epistemic Challenges, participants felt dismissed, misunderstood, or relegated to passive roles by a system privileging quantifiable measures over subjective experiences. This overreliance on objective data fosters epistemic injustice by discounting patient testimonies and perpetuating systemic inadequacies. Under Epistemic Opportunities, participants reported more effective knowledge exchange when their expertise was acknowledged, empathy was shown, and professionals recognized their own limitations.

Conclusions: Findings underscore the need to balance objective assessments with patients' subjective perspectives, recognizing persons with chronic pains as legitimate collaborators. By integrating their lived expertise, healthcare systems may mitigate epistemic injustices and provide more empathetic, effective care.