Journey in Pain Care

About the Study

We want to hear your story. We’re striving to understand more about parent and youth journeys as they navigate pain care. To do so, we are interviewing youth and parents individually about their personal experiences. Through listening to youth and caregivers, we hope to identify unmet needs and gaps in pain care to improve chronic pain treatment into the future. This study is open to SPRINT. Your participation in the SPRINT study is separate and will not be impacted by your decision to participate or not participate in the Journey in Pain Care Study.

About the Interview

You and your caregiver will be asked to reflect on your pain care journey in a 60-minute interview guided by one of our study team members. We will conduct separate interviews with you and your caregiver. Interviews will take place online via zoom or in-person, depending on your preference. You will receive a $50 Amazon gift card as a thank you for your time.

What Youth are Saying

"I would totally recommend [this study] because honestly I did it because I want to make differences in other people's lives. Just like maybe one day there's going to be a cure for chronic pain and we can be a part of that. I think that'd be pretty cool."
“I think it's good to reflect on everything that's going on, and sometimes it can be helpful to just look back at the bigger picture of even a smaller thing
"I think it’s a good time to sit down and reflect on what you've done, and you know the accomplishments that you've come across throughout your whole journey and yeah it's somewhat comforting in a way."
"Creating a timeline kind of helps in realizing how far you've come or what your next steps can be. Also it might help another person, so that's really awesome if it does."

What Caregivers are Saying

“Whatever we can do to help other families… She [teen] likes it so we do it for her. She gets excited. She believes she's doing something good so that's why we do this. However our testimonies, our experiences, can help someone else, can help your work, so that good things can happen and you can offer other people services, why not help?”
"I think it was actually helpful for me to put some of my thoughts and feelings into perspective and kind of explore those a little. I honestly think it was very beneficial for me."
"It is a chance to talk to someone about this process. Hopefully as people discuss their stories you can glean some kind of correlations or patterns that would help make this program even better."

Meet the Team

Ellie Choate, BA Affiliated Graduate Student
Ellie a second-year Clinical Psychology PhD student at Palo Alto University with an emphasis in pediatric behavioral healthcare. She is currently doing research in the BPP lab, primarily working on the utilization of virtual reality as a treatment for chronic pain compared to standard physical therapy. She enjoys doing anything outside with her dog and finding new, yummy restaurants around the Bay Area.
Courtney Hess, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow
Courtney is a postdoctoral fellow who joined the BPP lab in September 2021 and is passionate about improving pain care for patients and families. She completed her training in Boston and Baltimore and is excited to now be in sunny California. She enjoys being outside with her dogs (Winston & Lennon), rock climbing with her friends, and finding hidden food gems in the city.

Alex Tremblay-McGaw, BA Lead Clinical Research Coordinator
Alex joined the lab in May of 2021 and is really excited to be working in a clinical research lab. Previously she worked at the University of Oregon as a lab manager in a cognitive neuroscience lab studying memory. She loves kickboxing with her neighbor, going on long walks with her dog Boise, and going out dancing.
Amanda Van Orden, BA Clinical Research Coordinator
Amanda joined BPP in June of 2021 and thoroughly enjoys her work in the lab on projects such as the virtual reality in physical therapy trial, the graded exposure trial, and the various patient/parent interview projects. She graduated from Georgetown University ’21 and plans to pursue a career in clinical psychology. In her free time, Amanda loves to teach yoga, exercise outdoors and spend time with friends and her cat, Ziggy.

Amanda Wiseman, BA Clinical Research Coordinator
Amanda joined the lab in June of 2021 and loves working with patients and their families in the SPRINT study and the BETTER Patient and Parent Advisor Committee. She is passionate about improving patient experiences through collaboration and education in fun and creative ways. She enjoys exploring new places, baking bread and desserts, and gardening with her grandma.
Alex Neville, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow
Alex is a postdoctoral fellow who joined the BBP lab in September 2022 and is committed to including the voices of patients and families in research. She earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary and completed her pre-doctoral residency at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. She enjoys traveling, hiking, and wandering through farmers’ markets.