Carissa Cascio, PhD, associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and researchers who work with her are seeking medical professionals in good standing with more than one year of training to participate in a research study investigating how medical care providers assess pain in different people.
Pain is a subjective experience, and as such, self-report is considered the clinical “gold standard” for pain assessment. Reliance on self-report is problematic for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). In fact, 71% of surveyed physicians believe that pain is under-treated in children with cognitive impairment. This study further noted that challenges in assessing pain and lack of provider education are the two biggest obstacles to appropriate pain management (Malviya et al., 2005). This study aims to expand understanding of medical care professionals’ pain assessment of children with IDD, by assessing provider bias in pain assessment of those with IDD.
Interested participants will first be asked to provide some details regarding your professional background. Those who qualify will be asked to take an online survey about assessing pain in different individuals. In this survey, you will watch short videos of 10 different individuals. After completion of that survey, you will also be asked to fill out a demographics form with information about your own demographics and your professional history. Time commitment of this survey is approximately 30 minutes. Participants who complete the study will receive a $25 Amazon e-gift card.
For more information or to participate, contact Caitlin Convery at caitlin.a.convery@vumc.org.
