Adolescents who undergo major surgery experience high rates of disabling acute and chronic postsurgical pain. This experience of pain in turn delays recovery and impairs health outcomes. Our lab examines the contributing and mitigating factors of pain development through rigorous observational and interventional studies to inform effective perioperative pain treatment.
Acute to Chronic Pain Transition
Adolescents who undergo major surgery experience high rates of disabling acute and chronic postsurgical pain. This experience of pain in turn delays recovery and impairs health outcomes. Our lab examines the contributing and mitigating factors of pain development through rigorous observational and interventional studies to inform effective perioperative pain treatment.
Psychosocial and Integrative Treatments for Pediatric Pain
The perioperative model of care is medically focused, and there has been limited application of psychosocial and complementary and integrative interventions for adolescents undergoing major surgery. Our current clinical trials focus on testing the feasibility and efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions to address pain while reducing reliance on medication post-surgery.
Disparities in perioperative and pain care
The relationship between the social determinants of health and post-surgical pain is understudied, and limited research exists on how social inequities affect children from minoritized backgrounds in the perioperative period. Our lab leads and collaborates on studies examining national datasets to identify and understand contributing factors to disparities in pediatric perioperative and pain care.
For inquiries or further information about our research and our lab, we welcome you to get in touch with us.