Internationally known for research focusing on disparities in pain and health care, clinician variability in pain management decision-making, and developing policy and pain care disparities research agenda, Dr. Carmen R. Green will deliver a public lecture Jan. 21 as part of the 27th Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium. Green is a practicing pain medicine physician and anesthesiologist.
In her talk, “Unequal Burdens and Unparalleled Opportunities: Achieving the Dream for Health and Pain Care Equity,” Green will use patient narratives and an historical lens to explore causes and to tell the stories and consequences of those living with pain. She will examine inequities in pain assessment and management among minorities, women and the elderly — and opportunities for improvement.
Green is a tenured professor of anesthesiology, obstetrics and gynecology, and health management and policy at the Medical School and School of Public Health.
“As the U.S. continues to age and diversify, and the prevalence of pain increases, it is critically important to examine health disparities due to pain in vulnerable populations — and to find ways to address these disparities,” Green says.
Green
Among her many research findings, she has discovered that the pain accompanying cancer tends to be worse among non-whites and women than among white patients, breakthrough pain can be worse for non-whites than whites, and black patients and women miss out on the strongest pain medications.
She has also found that race and neighborhood status is linked with chronic pain.
The lecture is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. Jan. 21, at U-M Hospital, second floor, Dow Auditorium, Towsley Center. It is sponsored by the U-M Hospitals and Health Centers and the schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Public Health, Social Work, and the College of Pharmacy.
