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Message from the Editors
Dr. Cathy Jeffery, Dr. Susan Tupper
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This newsletter provides some updates and new information and resources to share with you to kick off summer 2023.
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Alexandria has been a valued SaskPain board member since February 2021 and is stepping down effective June 2023 as she pursues PhD studies. She has been instrumental in building a bigger and more focused social media presence for SaskPain and we will miss her contributions to the work of the board. We wish Alexandria all the best in her future pursuits.
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We are so pleased to announce and welcome our new board members:
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Dr. Rotimi Kolawole MD, MBBS, MPH, CHE, CISAM, CCSAM, FRCPC, DRCPSC
Dr. Kolawole joined the SaskPain board in February 2023. He is a practicing physician with certification as a specialist in Public Health and Preventive Medicine through the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and Addiction Medicine certification through the International Society of Addiction Medicine. He is a diplomate of Addiction Medicine with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and a certificant of the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine. He also holds the designation of Certified Health Executive with the Canadian College of Health Leaders. Rotimi completed 5 year Royal College residency training in Public Health and Preventive Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan and 1 year of Clinical Addiction Medicine Fellowship with the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use, Vancouver. Rotimi’s current clinical practice which is situated in Prince Albert SK, is a mixed model of Public Health as a Medical Health Officer and an Addiction Medicine Physician with interest in Chronic Pain Management. In addition to his clinical and academic roles, Rotimi has a deep interest in multidisciplinary approaches to chronic pain management and elimination of systemic barriers for people with substance use disorders in accessing community-based recovery and pain management programs.
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Dr. David Peeace DC, C. Dir
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Dr. Peeace joined the SaskPain board in March 2023. He has been in chiropractic practice for 27 years with the past 20 being in Estevan. He has the distinction of being the first indigenous chiropractor to practice in the province of Saskatchewan. David is a past chair of the Canadian Chiropractic Association. He has previously served on the World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) Board of Directors, Chair of the Canadian Chiropractic Guideline Initiative, and President of the Chiropractors’ Association of Saskatchewan. David currently represents Canada on the WFC’s Public Health committee, and co-chairs the Indigenous Chiropractic Caucus. An avid Saskatchewan Rough Rider fan, he and his wife enjoy travelling the world.
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If you are interested in finding out more about being a SaskPain Board member and have experience and skills particularly in the areas of business development, social media, fundraising, or legal, please email SaskPain or view the SaskPain Board Member application at this link SaskPain Board Member Application.
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Updates from the SaskPain Board Chair Dr. Susan Tupper
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- SaskPain has had an active year of establishing provincial and national collaborations and contributing to work being conducted in the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) to develop a provincial pain strategy. Board members, including people with lived experience, attended several meetings with pain experts and the SHA Senior Leadership Team to inform development of the provincial pain strategy, highlighting data from the Improving Pain In Saskatchewan research study (Principal Investigators Dr. Susan Tupper and Dr. Karen Juckes).
- SaskPain is partnering with provincial professional associations to explore opportunities for collaboration which will support the actions of the provincial pain strategy. SaskPain has provided representation to the SHA working group developing and implementing a primary care chronic pain management clinical pathway currently being piloted in the Regina area of the province.
- The national Chronic Pain Network is one of five networks funded through a Knowledge Mobilization and Implementation Science Grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Strategy for Patient-oriented Research (SPOR). SaskPain is a partner on this project and will collaborate with other national stakeholders to mobilize knowledge to people living with pain and healthcare providers in order to remove barriers to pain management.
- In the coming year SaskPain board members will take the time to identify priorities for next steps in provincial and national collaborations and new projects to support people living with pain and their healthcare providers in Saskatchewan.
- SaskPain recognized as a collaborative partner with Pain Canada.
- Research participation opportunities.
- Learning opportunities and conferences.
- Resources for pain management.
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Pain Canada is the first multi-stakeholder national initiative where people who have lived experience with pain are at the center of decision-making and priority-setting. Resources will be mobilized to build capacity towards dramatically improved systems of care and support for people with pain.
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SaskPain continues to have a presence on the national chronic pain scene through the collaborative partnership with Pain Canada. Our Board Chair, Dr. Susan Tupper represents SaskPain on the Pain Canada National Advisory Committee.
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Pain Canada has received 5 years of funding for several different initiatives that will include mentorship for provincial organizations like SaskPain, spreading evidence-based pain education for healthcare providers and people who live with pain, supporting national Canadian Pain Society rounds, and continued support for the Putting the Pieces Together conference for people living with pain - see the Learning Opportunities and Conferences section below for links to find out more about these initiatives. See the news release at this link: News Release Pain Canada 5 Year Funding
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Saskatchewan will benefit from being a partner with this new national action network that will work to advocate for country-wide standards, encourage pain-related research, promote equity, and influence policymakers.
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For more information about the important work Pain Canada is leading check the website Pain Canada.
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Improving Pain in SK Research Project:
The Improving Pain in Saskatchewan (IPSK) Research team has been busy with knowledge mobilization. Find study updates on our website at: SaskPain Research
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Achievements and Activities Update:
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- 152 interviews with people living with chronic pain and family caregivers, healthcare providers, health services decision makers, and community based organization representatives.
- 61 recommended change strategies were identified, including service program elements (what programs or services needed to improve pain) and service delivery elements (how care can be delivered) Recommended Change Strategies
- Yorkton area working group led the development, delivery and evaluation of 23 online Partners in Pain education and support group sessions with 387 people attending live and over 670 video views on YouTube.
- Saskatoon area working group received additional funding from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) and Saskatchewan Centre for Patient Oriented Research (SCPOR) to develop graphic medicine stories (educational comics) about pain-related stigma and patient-oriented solutions. The team is working with Arcana Creative to illustrate the stories which will be used in healthcare provider education to raise awareness and provide solutions to pain-related stigma.
- Regina area working group has been writing a children's book and developing a curriculum module for children in Grade 4-5. The book and curriculum materials have been developed in collaboration with elementary school teachers, hospital-based teachers, and people who live with pain. The book tells the story of Rikki, a young person who lives with chronic pain.
- Our team is busy mobilizing what we learned in the interviews with people living with pain. The team is currently busy preparing manuscripts on the research. View posters presented at the Canadian Pain Society meeting at these links: IPSK CPS 2022 Change Strategies Poster IPSK CPS 2022 Partners in Pain Results Poster
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Want to keep up to date on our research?
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Partners in Pain - The Online Sessions
You can still access recordings of the sessions that featured guest speakers who presented on a variety of interesting topics related to pain management. Topics of sessions in the series relating to pain include massage therapy, sleep, managing stress, biomedical dry needling, how culture shapes the world of pain, caregiver well-being, and nutrition.
All of the session recordings can be found on SaskPain's website or at the YouTube link below: Partners in Pain Recordings
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Podcast & Audio Interviews
Although this series has wrapped up, you can still download the 30-minute audio interviews to a personal device for easy listening, or stream the episodes online."Your Partners In Pain” is a resource and initiative that seeks to raise awareness, spread knowledge, and give individuals a platform to share their personal stories about living with pain.
During this series, we spoke to a number of pain advocates and researchers about topics like CRPS, living with pain as a pediatric patient, self advocacy, pelvic pain and endometriosis, holistic pain care, the pain cycle, and the activities associated with the IPSK project.
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All 20 episodes can be found on our SaskPain YouTube, our Transistor account or anywhere podcasts are streamed (click on the blue button below).
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Thanks to the generous support of the Community Initiatives Fund for making this series possible.
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SaskPain is always interested in speaking to Saskatchewan-based individuals about their lived experience of pain, professionals who are involved in pain research, or clinicians focusing on pain management. Please contact SaskPain if you are interested in sharing your experience.
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We welcome feedback or suggestions on this endeavor, and any questions can be directed to SaskPain
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Research and Improvement Opportunities - Info, How to Participate and Funding Opportunities for Researchers
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Participants Needed to Develop a Unique Physical Activity and Pain Management Program
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The Active Living for Pain research team, led by Drs. Nancy Gyurcsik and Susan Tupper, are inviting Saskatchewan community members who are 18+ years old and live with chronic pain to join them. Together, the research team and participants will develop a unique physical activity and pain management program for adults living with moderate-to-severe chronic pain. The program will be designed during two online meetings between May and August 2023. Each meeting will be up to 2 hours long and involve discussing preferences about physical activity and how to deliver the different parts of the program. Participants need to be able to do physical activity to inform the meeting discussions. However, they will not be asked to do physical activity during the meetings. Individuals who are interested in helping design the program can complete the initial research survey at any time to get started: https://activelivingforpain.ca/nowrecruiting/
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Research Participation Opportunity for Healthcare Professionals
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Are you a healthcare professional in Canada working with chronic pain patients? You’re invited to complete an online research survey to understand the use of trauma-informed approaches in your clinical practice with your chronic pain patients.
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You are invited to participate in this research if:
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1) you are able to complete a web-based survey in English or French;
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2) you are a licensed healthcare professional working in Canada; and
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3) at least one third of your patients are consulting you for chronic pain.
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This research is being led by Catherine Paré (PhD candidate, McGill University) and Arthur Woznowski-Vu (PhD candidate, McGill University) under the supervision of Dr. Timothy Wideman (Associate Professor, McGill University).
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Funding Opportunities for Canadian Veteran Chronic Pain Research
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The Chronic Pain Center of Excellence for Canadian Veterans (CPCoE) has recently opened new funding opportunities focused on 3 categories impacting the well-being of Canadian Veterans. The CPCoE Research and Development section would like to hear from potential researchers interested in applying for these funds. The competition is open from May 8, 2023 to August 28, 2023. More information on each of the opportunities can be found at this link: Canadian Veterans Chronic Pain Research Funding Opportunities
View the poster at this link: CPCoE Funding Competition 2023 Poster
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Resources for Pain Management - Local and National
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In addition to resources and information that you can find on the SaskPain Website
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our provincial and national partners also have excellent offerings:
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Pain BC offers many resources for persons who have lived experience and health care providers. Check out their website for array of resources and information: Pain BC
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The Pain Society of Alberta (PSA) has recently updated their resources page.
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The Canadian Pain Society (CPS) provides many resources for people living with pain and for healthcare professionals. Check the website out: Canadian Pain Society
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Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans
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The Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans is a research centre focusing on improving the well-being of Veterans with chronic pain.
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Dr. Andrea Furlan YouTube Videos for People with Lived Pain Experience
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Dr. Andrea Furlan MD PhD is a rehabilitation physician and pain specialist in Toronto, Ontario. She has developed YouTube videos that address chronic pain conditions, treatment, and prevention. Her videos provide practical information for people with lived pain experience and health care providers who practice in the area of pain management. In addition to English, most of her videos have closed captions in other languages including Portuguese, Spanish, Hindi, French, Filipino, and Chinese.
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Dr. Furlan continually adds new content to her YouTube channel and has recently added a video that presents seated exercises that can support improved health, balance, and mobility: Dr Andrea Furlan YouTube Channel
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Learning Opportunities and Conferences
Canadian Pain Society (CPS) Monthly National Pain Rounds
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CPS National Pain Rounds are offered, free of charge, on the last Friday of each month (except December). Check this page on the CPS website to find out more about content and dates and to register: CPS Pain Rounds
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Pain Society of Alberta (PSA) 17th Annual 2023 Conference - Save the Date
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Planning is underway for the Pain Society of Alberta 17th Annual Conference which will be held from Friday October 13, 2023 - Saturday 14, 2023 in Edmonton, AB. Keep your eyes on the PSA website for updates and to register: Pain Society of Alberta Annual Conference
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Canadian Pain Society (CPS) Annual Scientific Meeting 2024 - Save the Date and Watch for Details
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The CPS has announced the 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) will be held in Ottawa from April 27 - 30 at the Westin Hotel. A special feature of the 2024 ASM is that it will be co-organized between CPS and Health Canada. Check out the CPS ASM page here for more details: Canadian Pain Society ASM
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Pain Canada Hosted a National Event November 7 - 10, 2022
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Pain Canada hosted an online conference in November, 2022 for people who live with pain called Putting the Pieces Together. Over 500 people from across Canada attended the event. You can view recorded sessions from the event here: Pain Canada Putting the Pieces Together
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This annual conference, organized for and by people living with pain, will be held again in November 2023. Watch this link for more information coming soon on the 2023 conference.
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