Society for Pediatric Pain Medicine
Better Care for Children in Pain

Since 2009, the Rita Allen Foundation has awarded annually the Rita Allen Foundation Award in Pain, recognizing emerging experts in basic pain research whose work holds high potential for uncovering new pathways to improve the treatment of chronic pain. Each year, the Foundation typically awards two grants in the amount of $50,000 per year over three years, to early-career investigators who are pursuing innovative research on mechanisms that initiate and propagate pain in the nervous system. Candidates should be in the early stages of their career, with an appointment at the faculty level.

Formal Announcement

Instructions and Eligibility

Submit Your Application

In November 2020, JAMA Surgery published, “Guidelines for Opioid Prescribing in Children and Adolescents After Surgery: An Expert Panel Opinion”.

These new guidelines generated important conversation within the pediatric pain medicine community and SPPM.  SPPM members Dr. Rita Agarwal, Dr. Vidya Chidambaran and Dr. Stephen Hays submitted a formal response to the study, which was then followed by a response from the authors of the study.

Here are the pertinent links to the published papers and responses. Let us know your thoughts, we love to hear from our members!

Original study:
Guidelines for Opioid Prescribing in Children and Adolescents After Surgery: An Expert Panel Opinion: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/article-abstract/2772855

Response:
Concerns About Pediatric Opioid Prescribing Guidelines
Rita Agarwal, MD; Vidya Chidambaran, MD, MS; Stephen Robert Hays, MS, MD
https://ja.ma/3irE6Wu

Author’s Response:
Concerns About Pediatric Opioid Prescribing Guidelines—Reply
Lorraine I. Kelley-Quon, MD, MSHS; Matthew G. Kirkpatrick, PhD; Eugene Kim, MD
https://ja.ma/3z4BW4K

 

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) hosted a virtual pain summit on February 20, 2021 with 14 medical specialty societies to discuss acute surgical pain principles that will serve as the basis for a multi-society acute pain resource.

Follow link for more information:

https://www.asahq.org/about-asa/newsroom/news-releases/2021/02/14-medical-specialty-organizations-achieve-pathway-to-collaborative-guide-for-acute-surgical-pain

The NIH PainConsortium has developed a monthly webinar series on NIH grant mechanisms in pain research across career stages (training, transition and independent stages). The goal of this webinar series is to inform the pain research community of funding opportunities and other resources provided by the NIH. Each webinar will cover information on specific types of grant mechanisms and funding opportunities at individual career stages.

Each webinar will last approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes, and will consist of recorded presentations on specific types of grant mechanisms followed by a live question and answer session. NIH program staff from multiple NIH institutes and centers participating in the NIH Pain Consortium will be available for discussion and answering specific questions.There is no cost for these webinars, but attendees must register in advance. The link to register can be found here: https://roseliassociates.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_wRzWLADTQVmvB1dId7o_0g

 

Preparing Kids (and Parents!) for COVID Vaccines: How can we help kids navigate needle phobia and pain?
Dr. Rachel Zoffness and Dr. Samina Ali have been published in Psychology Today column Pain Explained, titled Preparing Kids (and Parents!) for COVID Vaccines. The article offers tips and tools to address pediatric needle phobia and vaccine hesitancy. Read the article here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/pain-explained/202104/preparing-kids-and-parents-covid-vaccines