Pain Management Commons^™

Engaging Youth In Bullying Prevention Through Community-Based Participatory Research, Jen Gibson, Paul D. Flaspohler, Vanessa Watts

Faculty Scholarship

Few studies that engage youth in community-based participatory research (CBPR) focus on issues of safety/violence, include elementary school-aged youth, or quantitatively assess outcomes of the CBPR process. This article expands understanding of CBPR with youth by describing and evaluating the outcomes of a project that engaged fifth-grade students at 3 schools in bullying-focused CBPR. Results suggest that the project was associated with decreases in fear of bullying and increases in peer and teacher intervention to stop bullying. We conclude with implications for the engagement of elementary school-aged youth in CBPR to address bullying and other youth issues.

School Mental Health Early Interventions And Academic Outcomes For At-Risk High School Students: A Review Of The Research, Aidyn L. Iachini, Elizabeth Levine Brown, Annahita Ball, Jen Gibson, Steven E. Lize

Faculty Scholarship

The current educational policy context in the United States necessitates that school-based programs prioritize students’ academic outcomes. This review examined the quantitative research on school mental health (SMH) early interventions and academic outcomes for at risk high school students. Seven articles met the inclusion criteria for this review. All articles were examined according to study design and demographics, early intervention characteristics, and outcomes. Of the studies included, most were conducted in urban settings, involved the implementation of group-based early intervention strategies, and monitored GPA as a distal academic outcome. Counselors were frequent implementers of these early interventions. A meta-analysis found …

Uncovering Meanings Of Death, Trauma, And Loss As Experienced By Hospice Bereavement Coordinators: A Phenomenological Study, Rochelle S. Clarke

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

This study examined the experiences of Hospice Bereavement Coordinators (HBCs) and Hospice Chaplains working with grief narratives from patient-family units exhibiting signs of anticipatory or complicated grief. While a significant amount of research has been conducted on Hospice employees, no qualitative studies have examined the interpretation of meaning from employees whose primary role focused on the psychosocial-spiritual aspects of clients exhibiting anticipatory or complicated grief. The researcher identified shared meaning of death, trauma, and loss from six participants in the context of a high stress and high loss environment. This study‘s findings revealed ten central themes: Death is an earthly …

Trauma In Patients With Serious Mental Illness: The Acceptability And Impact Of A Brief Psychoeducational Intervention For Trauma In The General Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Setting, Kevin E. A. Giangrasso

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Prevalence rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for individuals with serious mental illnesses (SMIs) are high, with an estimated 49% to 100% being exposed to potentially traumatic events. The consequences of these disorders are serious and lasting, with PTSD being the costliest of mental health disorders. At the same time, established evidence-based treatments for PTSD are often not feasible in treatment settings utilized by individuals with SMIs, namely the general acute inpatient psychiatric hospital. Psychoeducational approaches have been incorporated as a component of evidence-based interventions for trauma and have been feasibly implemented in the general acute inpatient psychiatric hospital. The …

The Precebo Illusion Of Pain Analgesia Using The Cold Pressor Task, Man Chun Kam

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

Everybody feels physical pain at some time in their life. Although physical pain can protect us from seriously harming ourselves, pain can also be harmful. Studies have revealed that unrelieved pain can have a long lasting harmful effect on both physical and psychological health (Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, 2006). Therefore, pain analgesia has long been an important issue in various fields, such as medical, biological and psychological field. In the current study, pain analgesia was studied through a psychological phenomenon called precebo illusion.

The Feasibility Of Implementing A Novel Electrical Stimulation Device In The Self-Management Of Hand Burn Pain, Katrina Liddiard

Theses : Honours

Burns are widely acknowledged as one of the most painful injuries experienced, and poorly controlled pain following burn injury has been linked to reduced psychological adjustment, lower quality of life, and increased risk of developing a chronic pain state. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation has been used for pain relief in a range of medical conditions, and may have the potential to reduce pain and analgesic consumption for burns patients. The burn care environment presents unique challenges to the introduction of new interventions, and the feasibility of introducing a novel form of electrical stimulation into this environment has not been tested. …

Learning To Combat Chronic Pain: Exploring The Effectiveness Of A Six-Week Patient Psychoeducation Course Teaching Self-Management Of Chronic Pain, Serita Backstrand

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Abstract Chronic pain is a highly prevalent health problem in the U.S. and poses a large economic and temporal cost to the medical system (Institute of Medicine, 2011; Marcus, 2003). Patients with chronic pain typically report a decrease in emotional, social, and economic functioning (Bair et. al, 2009; Breen, 2002; Kang, Backstrand, & Parker, 2013). This study investigated the efficacy of a 6-week evidence-based group psychoeducation course for the self-management of chronic pain. Pre- and post-test measures were utilized to assess results of the course. Data were analyzed using a paired sample t-test in order to explore the relationship and …

Report Of The Working Group On Animal Distress In The Laboratory, Marilyn Brown, Larry Carbone, Kathleen Conlee, Marian Dawkins, Ian J. Duncan, David Fraser, Gilly Griffin, Victoria A. Hampshire, Lesley A. Lambert, Joy A. Mench, David Morton, Jon Richmond, Bernard E. Rollin, Andrew N. Rowan, Martin L. Stephens, Hanno Würbel

Andrew N. Rowan, DPhil

Finding ways to minimize pain and distress in research animals is a continuing goal in the laboratory animal research field. Pain and distress, however, are not synonymous, and often measures that alleviate one do not affect the other. Here, the authors provide a summary of a meeting held in February 2004 that focused on distress in laboratory animals. They discuss the difficulties associated with defining ‘distress,’ propose methods to aid in recognizing and alleviating distressful conditions, and provide recommendations for animal research conduct and oversight that would minimize distress experienced by laboratory animals.

Volunteer Studies In Pain Research — Opportunities And Challenges To Replace Animal Experiments: The Report And Recommendations Of A Focus On Alternatives Workshop, C. K. Langley, Q. Aziz, C. Bountra, N. Gordon, P. Hawkins, A. Jones, G. Langley, T. Nurmikko, I. Tracey

Gill Langley, PhD

Despite considerable research, effective and safe treatments for human pain disorders remain elusive. Understanding the biology of different human pain conditions and researching effective treatments continue to be dominated by animal models, some of which are of limited value. British and European legislation demands that non-animal approaches should be considered before embarking on research using experimental animals. Recent scientific and technical developments, particularly in human neuroimaging, offer the potential to replace some animal procedures in the study of human pain. A group of pain research experts from academia and industry met with the aim of exploring creatively the tools, strategies …

Examining Group Differences Between Suicidal Veterans Classified As Wish To Live, Ambivalent, Or Wish To Die Using The Suicide Index Score, Brittany D. Morris

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A persistent difficulty in the field of psychology is identifying which individuals are at the greatest risk for suicide. Veterans of the US Military are at elevated risk for suicide as compared to the general population. One approach for designating tiers of risk is applying the “Suicide Index Score” to discriminate individuals based upon their reported wish to live (WTL) and wish to die (WTD; Kovacs & Beck, 1977). Brown, Steer, Henriques, and Beck (2005) demonstrated those who indicated a complete WTD and no WTL were at greatest risk to die. The current study expanded on previous research by using …

The Cessation Of Nssi: Differences In Acquired Capability And Distress Tolerance, Rondel T. Kittleman

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the role of cessation of NSSI in acquired capability and distress tolerance. It was hypothesized that individuals with longer time in-between assessment and NSSI would show lower levels of acquired capability and higher levels distress tolerance regardless of lifetime frequency. These hypotheses were tested by surveying 375 undergraduate university students (64% female; mean age = 20.3) Participants completed packets with self-report measures that included: Inventory of Statements about Self- Injury, Acquired Capability of Suicide Scale, Distress Tolerance Scale, and Demographics. Results suggested that individuals with longer amount of time since last NSSI …

Subjective Vs. Objective Physical Pain In Individuals Who Report A History Of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury: A Closer Look At What It Means To Experience Pain, Cassandra A. Sturycz

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) is the self-inflicted damage to one’s bodily tissues without the intent to die. Previous research has sought to discover the motivation of an individual to perform such behavior and differences in the experience of pain among those who self-injure. The goals for the current study were to reveal any relationships between the function of NSSI, the subjective experience of pain, and an objective measurement of pressure pain threshold. Participants completed the Inventory of Statements About Self- Injury (ISAS; Klonsky & Glenn, 2009), which measures the functions that NSSI serves, and a measure assessing subjective pain experience, specifically …

Wilderness, Kathryn E. Bucolo

Celebration

The collection of short stories I have written focuses on how people process (or do not process) tragedy, especially as related to themes of grief, memory, and faith. Most of the stories I have written are dysfunctional narratives in that they do not necessarily provide solid conclusions or solutions for the characters or readers, reflecting current trends in literature to move away from the didactic and moralistic in favor of the ambiguous and unstable, the hopeless and sorrowful. In "Wilderness", one of the pieces I wrote for my collection, Robert struggles with the death of his wife when he realizes …

Oral Sucrose Is An Effective And Safe Analgesic For Painful Minor Procedures In Infants During Primary Health Care Visit, Tanveer Khan

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

Pain induced by minor office procedures are associated with infant and family’s distress with possible long term psychological effects. Despite this known fact, it is not adequately treated in common practice. American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends pre-procedural oral sucrose to alleviate pain during the procedures. The purpose of this study was to review published literature for the efficacy and safety of oral sucrose as a pre-procedural intervention in infants for mild to moderate procedural pain.

A PUBMED, MEDLINE and COCHRANE database search was performed using the terms analgesia, infant, neonatal, newborn, nociception, pain, sucrose and randomized controlled study. Thirteen …

How Patients' Self-Disclosure About Sickle Cell Pain Episodes To Significant Others Relates To Living With Sickle Cell Disease, Valerian J. Derlega, Louis H. Janda, Jeannie Miranda, Ian A. Chen, B. Mitchell Goodman Iii, Wally Smith

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objectives: This cross-sectional study examines to whom and how fully sickle cell disease (SCD) patients talk to others about sickle cell pain, how helpful it is to talk with others about these pain episodes, and the association between talking to others about sickle cell pain episodes and patients' psychological adjustment and coping strategies in managing the disease.

Methods: A convenience sample of 73 African American patients with SCD (30 men and 43 women), were recruited from two SCD clinics at the time of routine medical visits. Most participants had been diagnosed with hemoglobin SS, and they reported an average number …

Acute Cerebellitis With Hydrocephalus, Nida Amjad, Anwarul Haque, Khalid Ahmed

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

We report a case of an 8 years old child who presented with sudden onset of headache and vomiting. He had broad-based gait and intention tremors on admission. MRI brain revealed isointense signals on T1-weighted imaging and hyperintense signals on T2-weighted imaging. Cerebellar swelling was also identified with significant mass effect obliterating the fourth ventricle. CT head showed prominent third and lateral ventricles. He was treated with high dose corticosteroids and required an external ventricular drain (EVD) insertion. He made an uneventful recovery and suffered no neurologic deficit. The clinical and radiologic findings in this boy were consistent with cerebellitis …

Short- And Long-Term Associations Between Widowhood And Mortality In The United States: Longitudinal Analyses, J. Robin Moon, M. Maria Glamour, Anusha M. Vable, Sze Yan Liu, S.V. Subramanian

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Background

Past research shows that spousal death results in elevated mortality risk for the surviving spouse. However, most prior studies have inadequately controlled for socioeconomic status (SES), and it is unclear whether this ‘widowhood effect’ persists over time.

Methods

Health and Retirement Study participants aged 50+ years and married in 1998 (n = 12 316) were followed through 2008 for widowhood status and mortality (2912 deaths). Discrete-time survival analysis was used to compare mortality for the widowed versus the married.

Results

Odds of mortality during the first 3 months post-widowhood were significantly higher than in the continuously married (odds ratio …

Lessons On Love From The Back Of The Pew, Ann M. Sasala

SURGE

Saturday marked the one year anniversary of the death of the most important man in my life, my paternal grandfather. Despite the desire of each of his grandchildren to be his one and only favorite, somehow, looking back, I now understand that he saw the same amount of value in each of us, and that is not something that can be quantified. I learned so much from him: how to shoot a gun, how to remove a splinter, and how to be a good, kind and compassionate human-being under any circumstances. [excerpt]

Walking Through The Darkness: Pastoral Care To Survivors Of Traumatic Loss, Mary M. Price

MALS Final Projects, 1995-2019

The aim of this thesis is to define and expand on the experience of traumatic loss and to examine the helpful role that pastoral caregivers play in supporting survivors of traumatic loss. The thesis will discuss and analyze theological and psychological responses to traumatic loss that are both "life-giving" or growth-oriented and "life-limiting" or growth-inhibiting. Its goal is to serve as a guide for pastoral caregivers who are caring for with bereaved people "walking through the darkness" of traumatic loss.

Part I will begin with an overview/analysis of the grief process, and parts II and III will build on the …

Euthanasia: An Act Of Love, David San Filippo Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Attitudes towards euthanasia are changing. According to a 2005 Gallup poll, 75% of the respondents believed that people should have the right to choose to die. A person in intractable pain with no hope of improvement may have the moral right to commit end her/his life.