GRANT. Stefan Bergman, who was recently recruited as lecturer in general medicine, received nearly six million SEK from AFA Insurance’s call for proposals within chronic pain. He will be developing methods for early identification of persons whose pain risks becoming long-term. Research will begin with population studies that cross over to clinical studies.
Stefan Bergman is a new addition to general medicine research in Gothenburg. He took over the position from Professor Cecilia Björkelund, who recently retired. Stefan Bergman most recently served as the Head of Research at the R & D Center at Spenshult Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Halland, and is also an adjunct professor at Halmstad University.
His research addresses pain and functional disturbances in muscles, joints and bones. It is not about a specific diagnosis, but rather, Stefan Bergman strives to understand why people develop chronic pain.
“Even during my first years as a doctor, I met people with chronic pain whose source was impossible to quickly determine. This awoke an interest to increase my and others’ knowledge of the background factors, evolution and treatment of chronic pain,” says Stefan Bergman, who also researches pediatric health.
The grant Stefan Bergman received from the AFA call for proposals within chronic pain amounts to nearly six million SEK. In the project, he will create methods for early identification and most effective treatment of persons in society, the workforce and primary care who are at risk of developing chronic pain, impaired quality of life and reduced work capacity. The project entails three parts: epidemiological, methodological development and clinical trials.
“We want to identify physical, emotional and social risk factors of chronic pain and its affects on quality of life and work capacity. In addition, we want to utilize this knowledge for development and evaluation of methods for meeting and preventing the development of chronic pain and its effects on the individual and society,” says Stefan Bergman.
Stefan Berman became a doctor in 1985. In 1995, he initiated a population study in Halland. 2,500 randomly selected persons were included in the study to ensure that the population sample represented the entire population. People answered questionnaires and underwent clinical examinations. Stefan Berman’s dissertation from 2002, which was based on this population study, showed, among other things, how common long-term pain and fibromyalgia are in the general population.
Since then, he has continued to work with population studies, and this fall he will start this major undertaking that includes a 20-year follow-up.
As Akademiliv previously reported, Elisabeth Hansson and Magnus Simrén also received grants from this call for proposals from AFA.
