New Roybal Center to Focus on Pain Prevention and Management in Later Life

The Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging (CITRA) is pleased to announce continued funding of its Roybal Center. The new center will be called the Translational Research Institute on Pain in Later Life (TRIPLL), and will focus on improving the prevention and management of pain in later life. Cornell University and its medical college are joined by new partners including Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the Hospital for Special Surgery and the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. Dr. Cary Reid will serve as Director and Dr. Karl Pillemer will serve as co-principal investigator. Dr Elaine Wethington, also co-principal investigator, will oversee the Pilot Study core component of the grant.

The focus on pain management in later life is particularly appropriate given that as many as 30 to 40 percent of older adults experience persistent pain, which can be a costly and frequently disabling disorder in later life. Effective solutions to the problem of later-life pain require moving basic behavioral and social science and medical research findings more rapidly into programs, practices, and policies targeting older adults. This Center will continue to take advantage of its research-ready senior center and agency network, based in the diverse multicultural environment of New York City. It will build on its earlier success in applying theoretical and empirical findings in the area of social integration and isolation, to understand barriers to diffusion of successful pain management programs, particularly self-management programs and strategies.

The mission of the center is to 1) translate the findings of basic behavioral and social science research into treatments, intervention programs, and policies that improve the health and well-being of older adults who suffer from or are at increased risk for pain, 2) promote translation of evidence-based practices, treatments, and interventions across
diverse venues to improve management of pain, 3) develop and test innovative methods, tools, and strategies that facilitate successful translation of evidence into practice and finally, 4) develop and maintain an effective infrastructure for conducting translational research on aging and pain.

For Further Information

Please email Karl Pillemer, kap6@cornell.edu, or Cary Reid, mcr2004@med.cornell.edu, if you have any questions or would like additional information about TRIPLL. A new website is in preparation and will be available shortly.

Human Development Outreach & Extension