To federate pain research in Quebec, QPRN has established a research infrastructure model based on a number of consortiums. These consortiums are organized based on specific research proprieties themes identified by our members, partners and people living with chronic pain and are designed to drive innovative research focused on the needs of the Quebec ecosystem.
Objective
The objectives of this multidisciplinary consortium are to study the navigation of veterans living with chronic pain through the healthcare system, to catalyze favorable care trajectories through research progress and to foster chronic pain self-management in the community. To promote a continuum and high added-value care trajectories centered on needs, this consortium aims to develop knowledge mobilization tools based on evidence and stakeholder needs.
Members
Director : Timothy Wideman, researcher at McGill University, Hélène LeScelleur, patient partner, Maureen Ahiatsi and Marimée Godbout Parent (trainee representatives).
Teams group together people from research and clinical backgrounds as well as any other person with expertise relevant to the work.
Progress
- October 6, 2022. Discussions and negotiations with the Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans to initiate a partnership.
- April 1st, 2024, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Hospital, Montréal. Appointment of a Planning, Programming and Research Officer whose role will be to promote and support research directly in clinical settings that serve a veteran clientele.
- April 19, 2024. Call for projects in line with the five identified needs by QPRN and the Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans. This initiative resulted in the selection and funding of three projects addressing, respectively, pain beliefs in Canadian Forces training environments, the use of a combination of virtual reality and neuromodulation for pain management, and a data infrastructure to study care trajectories and medication use among veterans.
- April 24, 2024, Québec. Visit from Nerita Leweis, Australian veteran, to discuss about the two countries’ initiatives in research and support programs for veterans.
- November 20, 2024, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Hospital, Montréal. QPRN organized the first in-person meeting of this consortium. Inspiring discussions were held about the use of cannabis, the positive effect of pain, the bio-psycho-social-spiritual model and the practice of mindfulness and yoga.
- May 14, 2025, Hôpital Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Montréal. Discussion meeting focusing on research of cannabis usage for medical purposes.
- October 20, 2025 Québec – Large group in-person meeting. More details to come.
Projects
- Understanding pain beliefs in the military and their role in shaping identity and coping among Veterans living with pain (Timothy H. Wideman, Peter Stilwell, Gabrielle Pagé, Derek Speirs)
- La réalité virtuelle et la neuromodulation des nerfs crâniens dans la prise en charge de la douleur chronique chez les personnes vétéranes : une étude pilote (Guillaume Léonard, Stéphane Potvin, Serge Marchand, Co-chercheurs : André Gosselin et Martial Talbot)
- La Cohorte COPE-V : Une infrastructure de données pour l’étude des trajectoires de soins et d’usage de médicaments chez les personnes vétéranes vivant avec de la douleur chronique au Québec (Anaïs Lacasse, Gabrielle M. Pagé, Manon Choinière, Line Guénette)
- What are the barriers and facilitators that influence how Veterans transition from specialized mental health services to successful community living and occupation? (Claude Besner, Melanie Bartczak, Isabelle Cornell, Timothy Wideman)
Knowledge Mobilisation
- Annual retreat 2025 : Update on the current progress and presentation of challenges and opportunities encountered
- Semestrial newsletter 2025 : Description of major progress of the consortiums. Newsletter link
- Introduction of the Planning, Programming and Research Officer model in a pain research setting at the annual meeting of the Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans
Partners
We are most grateful to the Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans for their financial support and the Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue hospital team for their collaboration.
Publications
Details to come
Photos
