Current Research - Veterans Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence

Current projects

Understanding Sex and Gender Differences in the Experience of Chronic Pain and its Management

Institution: The University of Western Ontario
Principal Investigator: Dr. Joy MacDermid, Associate Professor, School of Physical Therapy / Department of Psychiatry, Western University

Understanding pain beliefs in the military and their role in shaping self-identity and coping among Veterans living with pain

Institution: McGill University
Principal Investigator: Dr. Timothy Wideman

Healthcare utilization and costs of veterans and civilians with chronic back pain, with and without comorbid mental illness: A population-based cohort study

Institution: McMaster University
Principal Investigator: Dr. Jason Busse, Associate Professor, Anesthesia & Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University

INSPIRE: INcreasing veteranS’ Pathways to Information, Resilience, and Empowerment

Institution: Lawson Health Research Institute
Principal Investigator: Dr. Jenny JW Liu

Identity Transformation from Military Service to Civilian Life: A Narrative Inquiry

Institution: University of Toronto
Principal Investigator: Dr. Kerry Kuluski

Understanding the Unique needs of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Veterans Living with Chronic Pain: What Civilian Healthcare Providers Need to Know

Institution: Research St. Joseph’s – Hamilton
Principal Investigator: Dr. Margaret C. McKinnon, Research Lead, Mental Health, and Addictions

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses of Non-pharmacological Interventions for Co-occurring Chronic Pain and PTSD

Institution: Phoenix Australia
Principal Investigator: Dr.Meaghan O’Donnell

Optimizing Effectiveness and Engagement in Self-Education for Veterans Managing Chronic Pain: A Mixed Methods Study

Institution: McMaster University
Principal Investigator: Dr. Tara Packham, Assistant Professor in the School of Rehabilitation Sciences

Echoes of Service: Understanding Veteran Experiences to Advise Chronic Pain Policy in Canada

Institution: Lawson Health Research Institute
Principal Investigator: Dr. Anthony Nazarov

Integrating Canadian Veteran needs in identifying effective self-education tools for medical cannabis use in chronic pain

Institution: University of Waterloo
Principal Investigator: Dr. Feng Chang, Associate Professor, School of Pharmacy UW

Specifications for an evidence-based, Veteran-informed decision aid to support Canadian Armed Forces Veteran engagement in physical activity

Institution: Western University
Principal Investigator: Dr. Joy MacDermid, Associate Professor, School of Physical Therapy / Department of Psychiatry, Western University

Comparative benefits and harms of perioperative interventions to prevent chronic pain in Veterans after musculoskeletal surgery: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized trials

Institution: McMaster University
Principal Investigator: Dr. Behnam Sadeghirad, Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesia and Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University

Expanding rapid access to military-adapted evidence-based psychological pain care for veterans

Institution: Universitéde Sherbrooke
Principal Investigator: Dr. Junie Carrière

Co-designing an exercise decision support tool for Veterans living with chronic pain and occupational stress injuries, including post-traumatic stress disorder

Institution: Western University
Principal Investigator: Dr. Joy MacDermid

Building capacity in studying the health and wellbeing of Veterans and their families using provincial, routinely collected health and social data

Institution: Queen’s University
Principal Investigator: Dr. Alyson Mahar, Health Quality Program, Queen’s School of Nursing

Co-development of a family program to break the intergenerational transmission of pain in Canadian Veteran families

Institution: University of Calgary
Principal Investigator: Dr. Melanie Noel, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary

Exploring factors associated with chronic pain among Canadian Veterans

Institution: McMaster University
Principal Investigator: Dr. Jason Busse, Associate Professor, Anesthesia & Health

CPCoE-QPRN Collaborative Model: Quebec Consortium for Research on the Health of Veterans with Chronic Pain

Institution: QPRN Consortium
Principal Investigator: Dr. Hélène Beaudry, Executive Director

A holistic approach including sound therapy and cardiac coherence for the management of chronic pain and tinnitus in Canadian Veterans

Institution: Université Laval
Principal Investigator: Philippe Fournier, Ph. D.

Developing a chronic pain definition from health data

Institution: Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES)
Principal Investigator: Dr. Liisa Jaakkimainen

More information on past projects

Capacity Building Initiatives

The Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans (CPCoE) has created Capacity Building Initiatives (CBIs) to support research in fields related to Veterans’ chronic pain. The CBIs were created to support individual students completing research at the Master’s or doctoral level. The aim of the CBI program is to support and increase the number of researchers who are focusing their work on this topic. This investment in evidence-based research will help to deepen the field of research and will provide critical support to the next generation of researchers in the field.

A founding member of the Advisory Council for Veterans, François Dupéré, passed away on 20 January 2021. François was an inspiration as a Veteran and as a human being. To preserve his legacy as an advocate for resiliency within the Veterans’ community, CPCoE established a specific CBI in his honour to fund the work of a new Francophone Master’s student on a yearly basis. This initiative will contribute to the valuable research on chronic pain and ensure François is able to continue to positively impact generations to come.

2022 CBI Recipients

The Impact of Chronic Pain on the Social Functioning of Young Adults Transitioning from Pediatric to Adult Care
Gabrielle Leblanc-Huard

Understanding the Experience and Impacts of Brain Fog in Veterans
Ronessa Dass

Looking to Collaborate?

Should you wish to learn more or discuss collaboration on research projects, please e-mail: research@vcp-vdc.ca

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