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Manuscript published in Pain Medicine Authors: Zachary G. Jacobs, MD, D. Michael Elnicki, MD, Subashan Perera, PhD, and Debra K. Weiner, MD Abstract:  Objective. To determine 1) the feasibility of implementing an e-learning module on chronic low back pain (CLBP) in an older adult into an existing internal medicine residency curriculum and 2) the impact of this module on resident attitudes, confidence, knowledge, and clinical skills relating to CLBP. Methods. Participants were assigned to complete either the online module (N = 73) or the Yale Office-based curriculum on CLBP (N = 70). Attitudes, confidence, and knowledge were evaluated pre- and postintervention via survey. A [...]

Better Approach to Pain Assessment Places Emphasizes on Function A clinically aligned pain assessment tool employs a multidimensional approach that focuses on improving pain based on function rather than a single pain number. By Kathleen Doheny With Cary Reid, MD, PhD, and Debra Topham, PhD, JD, RN Click here to read the full article.

More Pain, More Aging, and More Pain With Aging: Parts 1 and 2 Pre-conference workshop at recent IAGG meeting featured experts in clinical research and care by Neil Andrews on 16 Jan 2018 In 2017, for the first time ever, the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) World Congress featured a pre-conference workshop on the topic of pain and aging. The workshop, titled “Pain and Aging: Measurement, Mechanisms, and Management,” and held July 23 in beautiful—and even sunny—San Francisco, US, featured many of the world’s leading experts on pain and aging. Eighty-six attendees from 24 countries gathered to listen [...]

TRIPLL has recently been featured in an article published in Weill Cornell Medicine. A Sense of Relief A Collaborative Institute Brings Together Researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine and the Ithaca and Tech Campuses—Along with NYC Community Groups—to Combat Chronic Pain in Older Adults The twice-weekly tai chi class at Riverdale Senior Services routinely draws dozens of participants. Photo by John Abbott Founded in 2009 with a five-year grant from the NIH’s National Institute on Aging (which was renewed in 2014), TRIPLL is one of 13 federally funded Edward R. Roybal Centers for Translational Research on Aging nationwide, each of [...]

Abstract: This study compares the outcomes, from pretreatment to 1-year follow-up, of an outpatient, CBT-based pain self-management program (PSM) that included exercises, pain education, and pain coping strategies, with a control condition (exercise-attention control, EAC) that included exercises and a control for the attention of the treatment team. We previously reported short-term results (to 1-month follow-up) from the same study. This new paper considers the important issue of maintenance of treatment-related gains. The participants (n = 141) were a heterogeneous sample of ambulant, community-dwelling older adult patients with chronic pain (mean age: 73.90 [6.5] years [range: 65-87 years]). The long-term [...]

TRIPLL has formed The Cornell International ePainCare Collaboration, an international collaborative made up of a wide range researchers interested and/or working in the areas of mobile health, technology, pain and/or aging. The mission of this collaboration is to expand existing, and facilitate new programs of basic and applied research, by evaluating the role of electronic and mobile technologies in the management of later life pain (ePainCare). TRIPLL will host an international conference on April 7th, 2017, in New York City, with broad multidisciplinary stakeholder representation – behavioral/social scientists, health care practitioners, older adults (65 years and older) living with pain, professionals [...]

Among the many new technologies on the market, virtual reality offers plenty of possibilities for exploration as it can be used in different industries including senior care. The technology has arrived at the right time with mobile devices already being widely used by the elderly. Although they generally lag behind their younger counterparts, users aged 65 and older said that owning a smartphone offers ‘a liberating experience’. Smartphones are also the core of many VR headsets. They can either be connected directly to the wearable or wirelessly to render virtual reality images. However, there are particular features that make a [...]

As the nation grapples with a devastating opioid epidemic, concerns have primarily focused on young people buying drugs on the street. But America's elderly also have a problem. Over the past several decades, physicians have increasingly prescribed seniors pain medications to address chronic pain from arthritis, cancer, neurological diseases and other illnesses that become more common in later life. A recent study found that in 2011, 15 percent of seniors were prescribed an opioid when they were discharged from the hospital; three months later, 42 percent were still taking the pain medicine. Excerpted from an article in the Chicago Tribune, [...]

The Weill Cornell T32 Training Program in Behavioral Geriatrics, led by Cary Reid MD, PhD and Holly Prigerson, PhD, is accepting MD and PhD postdoctoral trainees who seek careers that bridge biomedical and innovative social and behavioral approaches to improve care and health outcomes in older adults. The goal of the program is for trainees to become independent investigators capable of conducting patient oriented research to improve quality of life and quality of care of the ever increasing number and proportion of older Americans. Weill Cornell Medicine's Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Translational Research Institute on Pain in Later Life and [...]

Concerns surrounding harmful side effects and medication interactions associated with prescription medications has led to increasing support of the use of OTC medications and nonpharmacological multimodal therapies to treat chronic musculoskeletal pain. Musculoskeletal pain is a common occurrence affecting many older adults. It is estimated that one in four older adults will suffer chronic nonmalignant musculoskeletal pain. With the increase in the geriatric population (35 million people who are aged 65 and older), the number of individuals suffering from musculoskeletal pain has grown exponentially.1 In light of this trend, it is extremely important to have a pain management strategy that helps [...]