UTA Researcher Takes Geographic Approach to Health
Thursday, Jul 18, 2024 • Neph Rivera : contact
A University of Texas at Arlington researcher is taking an innovative look at a possible cause of chronic pain: where a patient lives.
“There is still very limited attention paid to the geography of pain—pain at the population level,” said Feinuo Sun, assistant professor of kinesiology with expertise in demography and population health.
She recently completed research that found that the risk of pain varies among community members depending on where they live. Using national data sources and an innovative spatial analysis approach, Dr. Sun and her team took a deep dive to help further understand arthritis pain among Americans, tracking where it is most prevalent and why on the county level.
Their findings revealed that the Deep South, Appalachia and Michigan experience the most pain, while Texas, Arizona and the south Atlantic show high levels of spatial heterogeneity, meaning some but not all counties showed high prevalence of pain.
The report was published in PAIN, the Journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain. It identifies possible reasons for such high levels of pain, including socioeconomic disadvantage, a lack of available treatment options like chiropractors and a lack of insurance. Sun and her coauthors also found the levels of severe pain to be especially high among racial/ethnic minority groups.
“Although they are not reporting joint pain or arthritis as often, they are more likely to develop more severe pain, with socioeconomic factors playing a role,” Sun said.
That is where she says that more action is needed to help pain sufferers. The research team stresses that attention should be directed to counties with a concentration of disadvantaged populations, including minority groups and those facing family and economic distress.
“We need more localized policies at the state and county levels as well as more research so we can explore more recent trends and more fully understand causes of these geographic pain disparities.”
Latest News
- MavPitch awards $100K to student entrepreneursWinning proposals featured AI tech, intelligent doors, and more
- UTA continues to dream bigPresident Cowley highlights innovation and student success
- UTA celebrates Hispanic culture and influenceMavericks can celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a multitude of events on campus
- UTA researcher advocates for sleep educationNew findings stress importance of sleep knowledge for social workers and those they serve
- Supporting UTA’s veteran community7th annual Veteran Resource Fair highlights services for military-connected students
- UTA student among Olympic medalistsAerospace engineering major Austen Smith won silver, bronze