Category Archives: Research

What We See and Don’t See

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seeingImagine what it would be like to be totally unaware that things exist in the world that cannot be seen. As such, emotions, for example, would not exist, let alone be understood. This was Kim’s reality for 54 years.

Kim’s brain is not great at seeing emotion. When she looks out at the world she physically sees all the things that most people see, but with much of the emotion subtracted. She sees the same tables, the planes, the trees … the people moving back and forth. But the feelings — particularly the subtle ones — are invisible. Though for most of her life she didn’t realize that.

“This is the interesting thing,” Kim says. “We believe our senses, so I didn’t know I was missing anything. If I’m seeing people talking and it simply looks like people are talking, why should I think that they might be feeling angry or sad or anything, if I’m not sensing that?”

However, thanks to some researchers and a magnet, Kim was able to “see” the unseeable for an hour. This hour of “seeing” has provided her with a greater understanding of the life she is living. To read the full story, click here.

Clinical Trials – To Participate or Not

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clinicaltrial
Clinical trials are becoming more popular and as such, the demand for participants is increasing. Unfortunately, oft times patients who are being asked to participate or are considering joining are unclear about the nature of the study and what their involvement would entail. This, in turn, makes deciding whether or not to get involved in the study more difficult.

To address this issue, The Center for Information & Study on Clinical Reseach Participation has a number of questions on its website that may be of assistance to individuals contemplating clinical trial involvement. Here are five of the questions they list.
1. What is the main purpose of this study?
2. Does the study involve a placebo or a treatment that is already on the market?
3. How will the treatment be given to me?
4. How long is the study going to last and what will I be asked to do as a participant?
5. What has been learned about the study treatment and are any study results published?

To reading the list, click here. What, if any, questions would you add to this list?

Could Painkillers be Reducing More Than Our Pain?

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tylenol

Have you noticed that you have become less empathetic? Are you feeling less compassion and sympathy towards others? While some might attribute this to societal issues such as our fast-paced world, and our way of being which may be seen as self-centered and self-focused, there may be another factor that needs to be considered; namely, the common pain medication we might be taking.

According to researchers at Ohio State University, acetaminophen, the main ingredient found in Tylenol, can reduce one’s empathy. As explained by Dominik Mischkowski, the author of the study,

Ultimately, these effects will need to be studied in patients who are actively experiencing pain, but they suggest that a patient taking acetaminophen may have less empathy for the sufferings and troubles of his or her child, spouse or coworker

Click here to continue reading.

Uncovering Medical Errors

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According to a recent study done by researchers at John Hopkins University, the number of inpatient deaths from medical errors have increased. With 251,000 error-based inpatient deaths occurring each year in the US, only heart disease and cancer cause more fatalities.

It is time to implement more aggressive measures to combat this epidemic of medical errors, even a measure that undoubtedly would not sit well with doctors, hospitals and, most certainly, their liability insurance carriers. But it is a measure that the health care industry should embrace if its No. 1 priority truly is patient safety. What is this measure? Doing away with keeping secret from the public the findings of hospital peer review committees.

Click here to read the full article.

Does morphine make chronic nerve pain worse?

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When a person takes a painkiller, the assumption is that the pain will decrease in intensity. This is particularly true when the medicine taken is morphine. However, a recent study indicates that morphine may actually make chronic nerve pain worse. Why might this be the case? According to Dr. Peter Grace, an Australian neuroscientist at the University of Colorado and co-author of the study, “It seems morphine works quite well initially, but as the immune system ramps up, this starts to oppose the pain-relieving properties of morphine and morphine starts to induce pain in its own right.” Click here to read more.

Patient/Family Partners Wanted

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Are you a Patient Family Partner in Canada? If so, you are invited to join a focus group or interview in person (Vancouver) or via telephone or webinar. To find out more about this exciting opportunity, click on the image below.

Call for Patient Family Partners

Please Note: The deadline to express your interest in participating in this project is May 31, 2016.

Who is more likely to be overprescribed drugs?

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If you are a woman and a senior, there is a potential that you have been, will be or are taking pills that are not required. According to a new study out of University of British Columbia, “nearly one in three women in this province over age 65 received inappropriate prescription medicines in 2013, compared to one in four men, who received similar prescriptions.” Why are more women being overprescribed medicine than men? What is the reason for this discrepancy? Why are senior woman, or indeed anyone, being overprescribed medication? These and other related questions are addressed here

Primary Health Care in Canada – Indicator Results

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Released in April 2016, this free CIHI document may be of interest to you. “Based on the 2012 Pan-Canadian Primary Health Care Indicator Update Report, this chartbook profiles the results from a selected group of primary health care (PHC) indicators, using a range of data sources, with the aim of providing an integrated view of PHC information in Canada.” Download the document here

Survey: Pain Patients and Treatment at Hospitals

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pain treatment
Over 1250 acute or chronic pain patients participated in an online survey by Pain News Network and the International Pain Foundation that focused on hospital pain care. Based on the results obtained, many pain patients felt that the treatment they received from a hospital was far less than ideal. As one pain patient stated, “It’s so bad that I will not seek treatment in an ER or hospital unless I really feel like my life is in jeopardy. They do not get it, they do not listen, and they do not care.” Another individual wrote, “I refuse to go to ER. It will end up killing me because I know how sick I am, but I would rather die than deal with ignorant, condescending doctors and nurses.” To read more about this study’s findings, click here.