# Pain in children: clinical, patient experience, and resource utilization outcome disparities surrounding invasive emergency department procedures

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · 2023 · $167,640

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
Each year, millions of children sustain injuries and undergo invasive medical procedures in the emergency
department (ED). Current guidelines emphasize the need to address the significant pain and distress children
experience in the ED, but inadequate pain and distress management remain prevalent. Under-treated pain and
distress can result in negative future pain experiences and maladaptive psycho-behavioral outcomes. Recent
work suggests that Latinx children are at a particularly high risk for experiencing distress and pain surrounding
surgery as well as pain treatment disparities in the ED. This application proposes a large-scale observational,
longitudinal cohort study to identify both predictors and outcomes of procedural distress and pain in an ethnically
diverse sample of children 2-9 years old undergoing invasive ED procedures. Methods will be based on the
NIMHD Minority Health Disparities Research Framework and Triple Aim and will include empirically informed
assessments of psychological, sociocultural, environmental, healthcare system, clinical recovery, patient
experience, and resource utilization variables. The K23 candidate is an Assistant Professor at the University of
California-Irvine School of Medicine and aims to establish an independent interdisciplinary research program
that improves pediatric pain care and prevents adverse outcomes and healthcare disparities surrounding injury
and painful procedures in the pediatric ED. The candidate’s training plan capitalizes on the expertise of a highly
experienced multidisciplinary mentorship team, integrating key training in pain surrounding invasive ED
procedures, Triple Aim value-based care framework, sociocultural factors in pediatric pain and pediatric
healthcare disparities, advanced statistical modeling, and professional development. This application will be
executed within the UCI Center on Stress & Health, a highly productive, well-established research environment
that incorporates a unique multidisciplinary approach to training and clinical research. The training plan will
incorporate didactic coursework, one-on-one mentoring, and UC Irvine Institute for Clinical and Translational
Science (NIH CTSA) resources and seminars focused on career development, training evaluation and research
ethics. With enthusiastic and material support from the Children’s Hospital of Orange County senior leadership,
the project will be conducted in a high-volume pediatric ED where a large proportion of patients (66%) are Latinx
and are part of an innovative population health program. Collectively, this will provide an exceptional training
environment to characterize multidimensional contributors to procedural pain and distress in a population at-risk
for experiencing care disparities and launch a clinically impactful, independent research program that promotes
effective and equitable pediatric pain and injury-related care in the ED.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10674872
- **Project number:** 5K23HD105042-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Sarah R Martin
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $167,640
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-08-01 → 2027-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10674872

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10674872, Pain in children: clinical, patient experience, and resource utilization outcome disparities surrounding invasive emergency department procedures (5K23HD105042-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10674872. Licensed CC0.

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