NYC Persistent Pain Advisory Group (PPAG)

The NYC Persistent Pain Advisory Group (PPAG) is an innovative group that aims to make a difference in the management of persistent pain in the community. The PPAG was formed in February 2007 as an outgrowth of a Fall 2006 roundtable discussion on chronic pain convened by CITRA and Weill Cornell Medical College’s Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology. The PPAG is a multidisciplinary team comprising of senior center directors, physicians, nurses, social workers, professors, a chaplain, representatives from Veterans’ Affairs, and other community leaders who have a common interest in persistent pain management, especially in the elderly.

We are working towards promoting awareness among community members and educating them on this very important issue, as well as undertaking an advocacy role to achieve dissemination of current services which cater to persistent pain sufferers in the community.

Persistent Pain Advisory Group Mission Statement
The mission of the NYC Persistent Pain Advisory Group is to: 1) improve the quality of life for the diverse range of New Yorkers with pain through research, education, program development, collaboration and advocacy; and 2) promote and improve accessibility to programs and encourage practices that reduce and prevent pain throughout the lifespan.

To achieve its mission, the NYC Persistent Pain Advisory Group will:

  • Collect and disseminate information about pain management programs in NYC.
  • Examine how age, culture, race, economics, religion, and socioeconomic factors impact on the pain experience.
  • Encourage opportunities for diverse groups (e.g., practitioners, caregivers, individuals with persistent pain) to learn more about the persistent pain experience.

Research Priorities by the NYC Persistent Pain Advisory Group Members
In Spring 2007, PPAG members reviewed and categorized the research priorities developed during CITRA’s Chronic Pain Roundtable in the Fall 2006. Some of the research questions from the priority list had two parts and members separated those parts into two distinct questions. In addition, some of the research priorities are placed into more than one category. Thus, the initial priority list had 50 items and the new list has 59 items. This new list of priorities is divided into categories is as follows:

  1. Creative Arts/Expressive Arts
  2. Individual Approaches (including behavioral change issues)
  3. Programmatic Approaches
  4. Evaluation/Assessment of Programs
  5. Intervention Research
  6. Detection/Assessment of Pain Experience
  7. Pain Biology
  8. Research Methods

Current Research Project
The PPAG was recently funded by CITRA to conduct the following research project, commencing Fall 2008:

  • Research project aims: The PPAG aims to introduce an educational intervention to improve senior center directors’ knowledge about the value of non-pain specific programs for helping with pain management.
  • Methods: The research study would partner with 10 NYC senior centers to develop promotional materials advertising evidence-based pain reduction programs. We will also partner with 10 additional centers that do not receive promotional materials (the control group).

Focus Groups
The PPAG’s intends to learn about patient and provider perceptions regarding pain management techniques in order to better educate older adults and organizations about the needs of older adults (e.g., developmental changes in elderly, issue of bereavement) and the role of chronic pain in their lives. Members determined that it would be a good idea to use descriptors (i.e., personal experiences) to achieve this. To this end, in 2008, the PPAG conducted two focus groups, one for providers and one for clients, at the Riverdale Senior Services, a senior center in the Bronx. The PPAG intends to continue conducting these focus groups at other senior centers and additional settings (e.g., primary care settings), to obtain both patient and provider views about pain management.

Organizations/Consultants Represented on the PPAG

Contact:
Samantha Parker
sap2013@med.cornell.edu
(212) 746-1801

Products:
Adobe PDF NYC PPAG research priorities
Adobe PDF NYC PPAG provider focus group summary


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