Leading researchers in pain medicine and health economics at the Centre for Pain Research, NUI Galway, are to supervise two Health Research Board-funded summer scholars in projects on chronic pain.
Edel Smith, a second year economics and maths students and Gerard Healy, a second year medicine student will be supervised by Dr Brenda Gannon, saenior researcher, Irish Centre for Social Gerontology and doctors Brian McGuire and David Finn, co-directors of the Centre for Pain Research, NUIG.
Efficient expenditure on health services requires detailed information on the costs of various medical conditions. The first project deals with health economics and seeks to explore the costs in one pain clinic in order to build a platform model of detailed costs among the most severely affected population.
The project aims to collect data on the economic cost of chronic pain among patients attending pain clinics. Those attending specialised pain clinics tend to be at the most “chronic” end of the pain spectrum and frequently have a high level of disability and associated costs.
The second project will evaluate whether variation in the psychological status of chronic pain patients undergoing an interventional pain management procedure, significantly influences the pain relief following the procedure.
“These two innovative projects will provide important data for clinicians and service planners,” said Dr Brenda Gannon. “These studies will play an important role in advocacy for patients with chronic pain.”
The projects are being carried out in collaboration with Dr David O’Gorman, consultant in pain medicine and Nancy Ruane, pain nurse at UCHG.
