pak2020

We are thrilled to have hosted our TRIPLL conference “Advancing Pain Care through Behavior Change Science & Mobile Health Technologies” on May 1, 2015 in New York City. The conference focused on opportunities to leverage new knowledge about the science of behavior change and emerging new media technologies to address the management of later life pain. Copies of the conference presentations can be accessed by clicking on the links below: Fostering Resilience to Chronic Pain through the Humanization of Social Relations by Alex Zautra, PhD The Use of Mobile Health in Delivering Chronic Pain Management Interventions by Pamara Chang, BA Decision [...]

An independent panel convened by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) developed a final report of the 2014 NIH Pathways to Prevention Workshop: The Role of Opioids in the Treatment of Chronic Pain. The report summarizes the workshop and identifies the need for more research and development around the evidence-based, multidisciplinary approaches needed to balance patient perspectives, desired outcomes, and safety. The panel concludes that "individualized, patient-centered care is needed to treat and monitor the estimated 100 million Americans living with chronic pain." Click here to access full article

A recent study published in the Journal of American Geriatrics Society examined, "the prevalence of bodily pain measures in elderly people and their relationship with Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) scores." The authors conducted a cross-sectional study in a representative community sample of 578 older adults, ages 70 and above. Prevalence of pain intensity and pain prevalence and their relationship with PPS scores, past medical history and neuropsychological testing scores were examined. The study found that, "higher PSS scores were significantly associated with greater pain intensity and pain interference." Click here to access full article

A recent study published in Menopause aimed to, “compare the long-term effects of outdoor and indoor training on affective outcomes and adherence to exercise training in postmenopausal women.” The authors conducted a 12-week randomized trial study and enrolled 23 older women ages 52-69 years old who were assigned to either outdoor training or indoor training. The authors assessed depression symptoms and physical activity levels before and after the intervention. The study found that, “exercise-induced changes in affective valence and adherence to training were significantly higher for the outdoor training group.” The authors concluded that, “outdoor training enhances affective responses to exercise [...]

In a study recently published in the Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, show that acupuncture may be effective in treating older adults suffering from low back pain and knee pain. The authors took to finding "the effect of acupuncture on back-pain and knee-pain treatment of elderly people" as an alternative to analgesic usage. The study surveyed older adults receiving treatment every two days for a total of 10 sessions of acupuncture treatment. The author's found that "mean back pain and knee pain scores of patients were reduced significantly after acupuncture treatment." The study concluded that acupuncture may be used as [...]

A recent study published in JAMA Psychiatry conducted a largest ever study that aimed to “systematically review the antidepressant and possible adverse effects of anti-inflammatory interventions.” The authors conducted a search for randomized placebo-controlled trials assessing the efficacy and adverse effects of pharmacologic anti-inflammatory treatment in adults with depression/depressive symptoms. The study evaluated 14 international studies with a total of 6,262 patients. The authors found that “anti-inflammatory treatment showed a beneficial effect on depressive symptoms without an increased risk for well-known adverse effects.” Full Article

The authors of a recent study published in The Gerontologist , “examined whether the associations of Positive Affect (PA) and depressive symptoms with sleep problems differed between caregivers and noncaregivers.” Interviews were conducted with 92 caregivers and 137 noncaregivers ages 60 and older. Sleep problems were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and depressive symptoms were assessed based on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale. The authors found that “caregivers with high PA had significantly fewer sleep problems, whereas those with depressive symptoms reported slightly more problems.” Additionally, “high PA and depressive symptoms were not associated with sleep problems [...]

A recent study published in the Journal of Aging and Health sought to “identify the intrinsic, psychosocial and lifestyle factors which predict the incidence of having an injurious fall or acquiring a fear of falling (FOF).” The authors conducted an 11 year longitudinal study consisting of 1000 community-dwelling older adults ages 65 and older. The authors found that the “predictors of injurious falls were increasing age, slower gait speed, and being depressed,” and that the “main predictors of developing a FOF were increasing age, cognitive impairment, reduced social activity and gender,” with women being at a greater risk. The study concludes [...]