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Pain, Stigma, Discrimination, and Injustice

Join us as we explore how stigma, discrimination, and perceived injustice are associated with adverse pain outcomes across different conditions and contexts.

PRF Team


28 August 2023


PRF Webinars

Social Aspects of Pain SIG Logo

Join us as we explore how stigma, discrimination, and perceived injustice are associated with adverse pain outcomes across different conditions and contexts.

This webinar was originally scheduled to take place on 3 July 2023 but needed to be postponed. At this time, the webinar has been rescheduled for Monday, 9 October 2023, and registration has resumed. Those who have already registered do not need to register again.  

Attendance is free for IASP members, though registration is still required. A registration fee of $25 is required for non-IASP members. To become an IASP member, you can join here. Trainee memberships are $50 per year, while regular memberships are $180 or $230 per year, depending on income level.

This webinar is being produced by the International Association for the Study of Pain’s Social Aspects of Pain Special Interest Group (SocSIG).

Date: Monday, October 9, 2023, 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m., Eastern (US) Time

Register here!

In addition to the physical challenges of living with pain, individuals who experience pain are at increased risk of comorbidities – including depression – that can exacerbate the pain condition and impede recovery. Psychosocial factors that may contribute to these comorbidities include – but are not limited to – experiences of pain-related stigma, discrimination, and perceived injustice.

This webinar will explore how stigma, discrimination, and perceived injustice are associated with adverse pain outcomes across different conditions and contexts. Next steps in terms of future research and intervention development will be discussed. The webinar will feature:

  • Joanna L. McParland, PhD, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK
  • Whitney Scott, PhD, King’s College London, UK
  • Claire E. Ashton-James, PhD, University of Sydney, Australia (moderator)

Register here!

About the Presenters

Joanna McParland, PhD, is a reader in health psychology at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), UK. Her research focuses on understanding the impact of social psychological processes (including social justice cognitions and resilience/flourishing) in the experience of pain in specific contexts (workplace and family context). She is also interested in using behavior change constructs (such as behavior change techniques and theoretical constructs) to understand how interventions work to promote health and work outcomes in different contexts, including the workplace and clinical contexts. She leads the Workplace Wellness Hub at GCU and is deputy lead of the Aging Well Research Group at GCU. 

Whitney Scott, PhD, is a senior lecturer in clinical health psychology in the Health Psychology Section of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London, UK. She is also a registered Clinical Psychologist and the Research Lead at the INPUT Pain Management Unit at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, UK. She has published 75 peer-reviewed journal articles on psychosocial factors related to pain and psychological treatments for managing persistent pain. Her work has been funded by IASP, the NIHR, and the Medical Research Council/Versus Arthritis Advanced Pain Discovery Platform. 

About the Moderator

Claire E. Ashton-James, PhD, is a social psychologist whose research investigates the social contributors and interpersonal consequences of chronic conditions and treatment outcomes. The overarching aim of her research is to evaluate and improve treatment delivery and patient outcomes, including pain, quality of life, and social well-being. Claire conducted her PhD research at the University of New South Wales (Australia) and Duke University (North Carolina, USA). She was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia (Canada) before moving to The Netherlands to work as an assistant professor at the University of Groningen, and later, VU University Amsterdam. Claire conducts interdisciplinary research with collaborators in dentistry, maxillofacial surgery, clinical psychology, experimental psychology, physiotherapy, neurobiology, and medicine, teaches in the Masters of Medicine (Pain Management) program at The University of Sydney (Australia), and is actively involved in providing continuing education to healthcare professionals.

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