A new approach to managing arthritis pain

March 5, 2014

Karl Pillemer

Although they had developed a program that was proven to help people manage arthritis pain, Cornell researchers found that participants were having trouble attending all of the training sessions. In a recent Cornell Chronicle article, the BCTR's Karl Pillemer, co-director of  the Translational Research Institute on Pain in Later Life (TRIPLL), described the disconnect:

Effective health programs may not reach people who need them due to factors such as culture, language, age or income, but changing programs to meet the needs of new target populations can make a dramatic difference.

To figure out ways to ensure better attendance, researchers Cary Reid, Karl Pillemer, and their colleagues met with community practitioners, arthritis sufferers, and program instructors. They ultimately incorporated over 30 suggested changes to create new guidelines for implementing the program. Results of the study were published in the Musculoskeletal Journal of the Hospital for Special Surgery this February.  Measuring the Value of Program Adaptation: A Comparative Effectiveness Study of the Standard and a Culturally Adapted Version of the Arthritis Self-Help Program was also co-authored by BCTR graduate research assistant Emily Chen, Cornell senior research associate Charles Henderson, and Samantha Parker of Tulane University School of Medicine. The study was partially funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research and the National Institute on Aging. Adapted arthritis program boosts participation - Cornell Chronicle