"It's Sink or Swim'': Exploring Patients' Challenges and Tool Needs for Self-Management of Postoperative Acute Pain

Poorly managed postoperative acute pain can have long-lasting negative impacts and pose a major healthcare issue. There is limited investigation to understand and address the unique needs of patients experiencing acute pain. In this paper, we tackle this gap through an interview study with 14 patients who recently underwent postoperative acute pain to understand their challenges in pain self-management and their need for supportive tools. Our analysis identified various factors associated with the major aspects of acute pain self-management. Together, our findings indicated that tools for supporting these patients need to carefully consider information and support delivery to adapt to rapid changes in pain experiences, offer personalized and dynamic assistance that adapts to individual situations in context, and monitor emotion when promoting motivation. Overall, our work provided valuable knowledge to address the less-investigated but highly-needed problem of designing technology for the self-management of acute pain and similar health conditions.