Patricia Poulin

The Interdisciplinary Pain Research group focuses on the following research areas:

• Patient engagement and patient oriented research: Chronic pain research priority setting; patient-reported outcomes; stakeholder engagement.  

 • Mindfulness-based interventions for chronic pain: Improving quality of life and reducing pain related disability among various chronic pain populations; understanding how mindfulness affects the brain, the body and the mind. 

• Chronic pain in the emergency department: Improving clinical outcomes and reducing acute care utilization for chronic pain

• Improving chronic pain care in the community: Evaluating chronic pain education programs including access to specialist support and the use of electronic consultations, for primary care physicians

A strong proponent of Patient Oriented Research and Patient Engagement, Dr. Poulin is an early-career investigator with a collaborative approach. As one of 15 principal applicants, she played a key role in the development of the CIHR funded Chronic Pain Network (Strategy for Patient Oriented Research Network in Chronic Diseases) and is the lead investigator for network research conducted at The Ottawa Hospital Pain Clinic. Dr. Poulin also led a Patient Engagement project to identify national chronic pain research priorities, and is a member of the Research Committee of the Ontario Adult Chronic Pain Network. 

Leveraging these connections, Dr. Poulin conducts her research in various levels of consultation and collaboration with a national network of scientists (e.g., neuroscience, health economics, eHealth, KT), clinician from different disciplines, decision-makers, and patients, in the following areas:

Mindfulness in Chronic Pain

With attention to indications and contraindications as well as biological, psychological, cognitive, functional, and quality-of-life outcomes, the Interdisciplinary Pain Research group is conducting multiple RCT studies evaluating the effects of mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) with various delivery methods for the treatment of chronic pain among various clinical populations, including: 

·  a brief MBI within a peri-operative setting (CALM);
·  an online MBI for cancer survivors with chronic neuropathic pain (COMPASSION);
·  an in-person MBI for breast cancer survivors with chronic neuropathic pain (IN-DEPTH);
·  an in-person MBI for people living with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (AWARE; Completed).


Chronic Pain in the Emergency Department

The Interdisciplinary Pain Research group's work includes investigation aimed at understanding the burden of chronic pain (CP) in the emergency department (ED), and subsequently seeking to increase health care value by developing, evaluating, and implementing innovative programs to provide better access to appropriate treatment options, improve treatment outcomes, and reduce health care costs for patients living with CP.

Studies in this area include those designed to take the pulse in the EDs of multiple hospital sites to determine the proportion of visits for CP, to identify the prevalence of patients who are high frequency visitors to the ED for CP concerns, and to understand factors contributing to this type of usage. As well, an interdisciplinary pain assessment and treatment program incorporating clinicians from pain and other specialty services, psychology, and addictions, and linking with primary care is being evaluated through a quality initiative pilot (RIPAP), and a RCT study (CIPAP) at The Ottawa Hospital Pain Clinic. The results will inform a multi-site study evaluating the effectiveness of different approaches to the management of CP in the ED.


Chronic Pain in the Community and Nationally

Through projects evaluating the impact of preceptorship-based education for family physicians, patient and physician interest in electronic consultation methods, as well as the impact of using alternative methods to provide expert advice on tertiary care wait-times, the Interdisciplinary Pain Research group is working to improve community-based chronic pain care, as well as access to specialized pain treatment.  

Additionally, through her co-development and active participation in the implementation of the Chronic Pain Network’s agenda to increase patient-oriented research and accelerate the research life cycle, Dr. Poulin, her colleagues, and her team, are working to improve care for all Canadians living with chronic pain.