Media Releases
» Go to news mainKids' pain researcher launches social media campaign to connect with parents
In an effort to get up-to-date research findings about children’s pain directly into the hands of parents, Dr. Christine Chambers and her team at the Halifax-based Centre for Pediatric Pain Research, have partnered with YummyMummyClub.ca (YMC) on a year-long social media campaign called It Doesn’t Have to Hurt. The work is funded by a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
“Poorly managed pain in children is a serious and on-going health problem; it results in unnecessary suffering and long-term negative effects,” says Dr. Chambers, a clinical psychologist at the IWK Health Centre and a professor in Dalhousie University’s departments of Pediatrics and Psychology & Neuroscience.
“We know that it generally takes 17 years for research findings to change patient care. Through the It Doesn’t Have to Hurt initiative, we want to make a more immediate difference in the area of pediatric pain management – for the sake of parents and their kids.”
"It makes so much sense," says Erica Ehm, creator and owner of YMC, the largest independently owned online magazine in Canada. "Our writers are great storytellers, and they create easily digestible content. As parents, we don't always know how to take medical information or research results and apply it to our lives, but readers will see the practical application in a real-life environment with this content."
Over the next twelve months, the It Doesn’t Have to Hurt initiative will include YMC blogs on children’s pain, and parents will be engaged through Twitter chats, Facebook posts, and videos. A wide range of pain-related topics will be covered on www.yummymummyclub.ca, and then shared through their social media channels.
“Through this partnership, we’ll be providing parents with cutting-edge information on managing newborn pain, how to deal with stomachaches and headaches, how to reduce vaccination pain, and so much more,” says Dr. Chambers. “YMC will make the information fun and engaging for parents, and push it out over their social media, which has an extended reach of over 5 million people per month.”
Not only will Dr. Chambers and Ms. Ehm be documenting the reach of all their content, they are surveying and interviewing parents about their awareness and use of evidence-based pain management strategies, both before and after the initiative, to study the impact of this work on children’s pain.
“We think this approach has incredible potential as a way to mobilize research evidence not only for pediatric pain, but in other areas of children’s and women’s health,” says Dr. Chambers.
-30-
Media contacts
Allison Gerrard
Dalhousie Medical School
allison.gerrard@dal.ca
902.222.1917
Ben Maycock
IWK Health Centre
ben.maycock@iwk.nsheath.ca
902.470.7086
Images
![]() |
Dr. Christine Chambers (right) and Monica Brown, a former pediatric pain patient (left). September 2015 |
Comments
comments powered by Disqus
Recent News
- Media opportunity: Dalhousie University study shows the ill effects of antimicrobials in large pediatric leukemia and lymphoma population in Atlantic Canada
- Media opportunity: Images on social media platforms of animals tangled in masks, disposable gloves show how protective plastic gear has affected wildlife throughout the pandemic
- Media opportunity: Dalhousie University professor taps into the power of gaming to help people struggling with mental health
- Media opportunity: Podcast by Dalhousie University professor showcases the trials, tribulations and trauma of working in the fisheries as told by fishermen themselves
- Media opportunity: Dalhousie University brother‑sister duo develop app that looks like recipe site, but allows victims of intimate partner violence to discreetly seek help
- Media opportunity: New Dalhousie University study finds opioid agonist treatment reduces risk of death and rehospitalisation among people who inject drugs
- Media opportunity: Children who are the same sex as their parent with anxiety disorder are at greater risk of developing anxiety disorder too: Dalhousie University study
- Media opportunity: International experts predict the greatest impacts on ocean biodiversity over next decade, urge policymakers to act now