Fall Faculty Updates: Ruth Paris, Associate Professor

Professor Paris, site PI, was recently funded by the NIH/NCCAM to study the impact of chronic low back pain on military veterans and their families. The parent study, based at Boston Medical Center (PI, Robert Saper) and the VA in Bedford, MA, is a randomized control trial of yoga for chronic low back pain in military veterans. While there is a growing literature on the effects of severe trauma (e.g., spinal cord injury, amputation) and mental health problems (e.g., PTSD, suicide) on the military family, little is currently known about the impact of chronic pain, specifically chronic lower back pain on marital and family functioning in military families.

Professor Paris also presented “Maternal and Infant Mental Health: Meaning, Significance, and Application” at the Boston Children’s Hospital in July.