The Centre of Excellence is the national leader in researching chronic pain in Veterans. The guiding principles for research include national and international collaboration, building upon existing strengths in Canada, and capitalizing on existing investments made by Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC). With the goal of improving Veterans’ well-being, our research findings will be used to promote evidence-based best practices that will inform our network of pain clinics, researchers, case managers, and the public.
At the core of all Centre of Excellence activities is the principle of Veteran engagement. Consultation and engagement with Veterans, which includes an Advisory Council for Veterans (ACV) to advise on research priorities, began prior to establishing the organization and continues as a lasting priority. This ongoing engagement helps to develop a deeper and more thorough understanding of the day-to-day challenges that Veterans and their families face as a result of their experiences with chronic pain. That understanding is used to shape research to ensure that it will have a genuine, practical, and positive impact on the well-being of Veterans and their families.
The Centre of Excellence conducted a qualitative study to better understand research priorities for Veterans. One-on-one interviews were conducted with Veterans across five Canadian provinces who reported living with chronic pain that began during their service. This research resulted in eight priorities, as listed below. A cross-sectional review to further define and rank these priorities is underway.
The Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans (CPCoE) has created Capacity Building Initiatives (CBIs) to support research in fields related to Veterans’ chronic pain. The CBIs were created to support individual students completing research at the Master’s or doctoral level. The aim of the CBI program is to support and increase the number of researchers who are focusing their work on this topic. This investment in evidence-based research will help to deepen the field of research and will provide critical support to the next generation of researchers in the field.
A founding member of the Advisory Council for Veterans, François Dupéré, passed away on 20 January 2021. François was an inspiration as a Veteran and as a human being. To preserve his François’ legacy as an advocate for resiliency within the Veterans’ community, CPCoE established a specific CBI in his honour to fund the work of a new Francophone Master’s student on a yearly basis. This initiative will contribute to the valuable research on chronic pain and ensure François is able to continue to positively impact generations to come.
Providing and alternative delivery method intervention for Veterans with comorbid chronic pain and psychopathology
Julia Keilty
A longitudinal exploration of the relationship between traumatic brain injuries and chronic pain conditions in both active duty and Veteran soldiers: Results from the Canadian Armed Forces Members and Veterans mental health follow-up survey
Meredith Seager
Exploring associative memory mechanisms in cannabis users with trauma histories: Relevance to understanding post-traumatic stress disorder-cannabis use disorder comorbidity
Sarah DeGrace
Effects of exercise on body composition and somatic symptoms of Veterans with operational stress injury: Pilot project
Shana Deschênes
Life in the shadow of the uniform: The identity transition experience of Canadian Military members released from an operational stress injury
Hélène Le Scelleur
Should you wish to learn more or discuss collaboration on research projects, please e-mail research@vcp-vdc.ca.
