Translating Research on Pain in Children (TROPIC)

Start/End Dates: 2006 - 2011

Investigators/Collaborators/Advisors: Bonnie Stevens (PI), Carole A. Estabrooks, Shoo Lee, McGrath, P., Johnson, C., et al.

Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Team Grant, CIHR Operating Grant

Grant Amount: $4.05 million, $1.4 million

Background: The CIHR Team in Children's Pain is a multidisciplinary research team from nursing, medicine, psychology, and pharmacy with clinical and research expertise in pediatric pain, research utilization, evidence-based practice, quality assurance, and multiple research methods. The team will conduct a novel, integrative, theoretically-based program of 3 research projects. The three projects are based on the interplay of the key constructs articulated in Kitson's research utilization model: evidence (Project 1); context (Project 2); and facilitation (Project 3). All 3 Projects will be conducted on 32 medical and surgical units at 8 Canadian Pediatric Health Care Institutions.

The objectives of this team grant program of research are to:

  • develop a Canadian Pediatric Pain Research Database to determine current pain practice in children

  • evaluate the influence of organizational context on clinical and process pain outcomes

  • assess interactive interventions for increasing translation of pediatric pain research into practice with usual care

Anticipated Benefits: The CIHR Team in Children's Pain study is an innovative organizational knowledge transfer program of research that will facilitate practitioners' pain research use, inform clinical, administrative & policy decision-making, and ultimately promote improved quality of life in infants and children.

Methods

Project 1: Establishing a common database

In Project 1, a centralized Canadian Pediatric Pain Research Network Database (CPPR) will be created and baseline data will be collected. This information will be used to describe the child, unit and health professional characteristics and to determine current pain practice in children.

Project 2: Delineating the context of evidence

In Project 2, an assessment of the context (organizational culture and structure) of each participating hospital unit will be conducted. This information will be used to evaluate the influence of organizational context on clinical and process pain outcomes.

Project 3: Evaluating the facilitative process of research translation

In Project 3, a prospective cohort study with repeated measures will compare an interactive facilitative treatment intervention to usual care for translating pediatric pain research into practice.

For more information, please visit the CIHR Team in Children's Pain website