Society for Pediatric Pain Medicine
Better Care for Children in Pain

 

Dear Colleagues,

Thank you for being part of SPPM, a Society dedicated to “Better Care of Children in Pain.” Your work, engagement and the vital contributions to pediatric pain management have made a difference to children’s lives, but together we can strive to do even more.

On this Giving Tuesday, December 3, 2024, when communities, organizations and individuals are coming together to transform our world through their generosity, we hope you will consider donating to the SPPM Education and Research Fund. We as members of the SPPM community make pain relief a priority. This is and will continue to be a work in progress. As pendulums swing back and forth, we must never lose sight of our goal of excellent pain management, while minimizing or preventing adverse side effects.

No contribution is too small and each contribution is a step towards better pediatric pain relief.

Make a Difference Today. Click HERE to donate.

Best wishes/Happy Holidays/Thank You.

Yuan-Chi Lin, MD, MPH
SPPM President

The Rita Allen Foundation has provided a special award for early-career leaders in basic pain research whose work holds high potential for uncovering new pathways to improve the treatment of chronic pain.The Foundation has awarded annually two grants or more in the amount of $150,000 over three years to early-career investigators pursuing innovative research that focuses on basic science mechanisms of pain.

Applications for the 2025 Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award in Pain are open through December 11, 2024. More information here: https://www.usasp.org/rita-allen-award.

During humanitarian crises, assessment and treatment of acute pain in children and youth are often not prioritized.  A short but important letter in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness raises awareness of this important issue and the impact of unmanaged pain for children in these situations.

Full letter can be read here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/disaster-medicine-and-public-health-preparedness/article/painful-call-about-the-underreporting-of-childrens-pain-during-humanitarian-crises/089E211686ECA654B91B4D567D6E2483

A new systematic review and meta-analysis published in JAMA Pediatrics has found that anxiety and depression is 3 times greater in youth with chronic pain compared to overall community prevalence, with 1 in 3 having anxiety and 1 in 8 meeting criteria for depression.

Full study can be found here:  https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2823154