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Author Archives: epihealth
How I Became Interested in Pain
I am often asked about the origins of my interest in pain and pain research. It’s a complex question and it fits in with my past experience: I tend to be interested in issues that both intrigue me intellectually, and … Continue reading
Posted in clinical research, Health, Pain, patient outcome
Tagged narrative medicine, Pain
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Patient outcomes and medical/health geography
Nearly 40 years ago, Ross Mullner and Jack Goldberg published “Toward an outcome-oriented medical geography: an evaluation of the Illinois trauma/emergency medical services system” (Soc Sci Med 1978;12(2D):103-110). The underlying question was whether regionalization and optimal location of services actually … Continue reading
Posted in clinical research, evidence, Uncategorized
Tagged medical ethics, patient outcome, policy, regionalization
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Evidence based medicine and “in my experience.”
As an epidemiologist with interests in many clinical questions, I have naturally gotten drawn into the realm of evidence-based medicine. If you ask almost any clinician, he or she will state that they practice evidence-based medicine. But I wonder if … Continue reading
Pain seminar approaching
Each year, I get excited as the beginning of our seminar on multidisciplinary approaches to pain draws near. I teach this undergraduate honors seminar with my friend and colleague, John Loeser, of UW’s Department of Neurological Surgery, and also Anesthesiology … Continue reading
Posted in clinical research, evidence, Health, Pain
Tagged chronic pain, epidemiology. pain treatment, Pain
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Reproducibility: Or Not?
A study that demonstrated a disappointing lack of reproducibility in studies in psychology has recently received much publicity in scientific journals as well as popular media, including the New York Times. Without going into the details of the study, only … Continue reading
Posted in clinical research, epidemiology, evidence, proof, reproducibility, science
Tagged evidence, proof, reproducibility, science
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Ebola: No Surprise
Media sources, politicians, and others have treated the current Ebola outbreak in several countries in West Africa as a complete surprise, and therefore, as an unpredictable threat. This “surprise” was not surprising at all. “Unprecedented is a moniker that I … Continue reading
POLIO IN ISRAEL 2013
Wild polio virus has been detected in Israel. Routine environmental/water sampling in southern Israel (Rahat) detected the virus in May. It has now spread to the north. Since the first week of August, the Israeli government has mounted a campaign … Continue reading
H7N9: Source and origins identified
More of the H7N9 mystery has been solved (or almost solved) in an article published online in Nature today (Wed. Aug. 21, 2013). Let’s remember that H7N9 was first noted earlier this year in China; so far there have been … Continue reading
H5N7: A problem in the making?
A new strain of avian influenza, H5N7, has been in the news recently, and every day brings with it reports of more cases and more deaths, principally in China. I am frequently asked: is this something to worry about? It … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Chronic pain as a public health problem
Some estimates suggest that 120 million Americans suffer from chronic pain. However, the issue is how to improve access to state of the art pain treatment. It is becoming clearer that treatments that are effective in acute pain, such as … Continue reading
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