Project Overview

Canada is a world leader in children’s pain research and effective treatments exist, yet Canadian children continue to experience undertreated and preventable pain. This is particularly true for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities who are disproportionately impacted by pain yet face significant inequities in pain care. To address this, in 2023, our team created the world’s first national health standard for pediatric pain management with Solutions for Kids in Pain (SKIP) and the Health Standards Organization. National health standards like ours are important because they tell hospital leaders and health professionals how to make sure that every child with a neurodevelopmental disability (from birth to 18 years old) gets the best pain care, every time, at any hospital in Canada. But hospitals often need support knowing how to put these standards into practice. Our project brings together expert teams from SKIP, 9 children’s hospitals/healthcare organizations, 11 community partners, health professionals, decisionmakers, implementation specialists, children, and families. Together, we will create more than 20 new tools to make it easier for hospitals across Canada to improve pain care for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. We expect to reach >50,000 people with the potential to benefit all >700,000 children with neurodevelopmental disabilities in Canada.

Principal Investigator

Kathryn Birnie , University of Calgary

Team Members

Christine Chambers, Dalhousie University

Tim Oberlander, BC Children’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre

Susan Poitras, University of British Columbia

Samina Ali, University of Alberta

Hayley Turnbull, University of Alberta

Jennifer Stinson, SickKids

Fiona Campbell, Sickkids

Evelyne Trottier, CHU Sainte-Justine

Marie-Joelle Dore-Bergeron, CHU Sainte-Justine

Kelly Thorstad-Cullen, Shriner’s Hospital

Argerie Tsimicalis, Shriner’s Hospital

Partners and Donors

KBHN

Solutions for Kids in Pain (SKIP)

Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute

O'Brien Institute for Public Health

Azrieli Accelerator

Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation

BC Children's Hospital/ UBC Developmental Pediatrics

Stollery Children's Hospital

Hospital For Sick Children

CHU Sainte-Justine

Shriner's Hospital

IWK Health

Holland Bloorview

Children's Healthcare Canada

Hotchkiss Brain Institute