Carol Vance, PT, PhD
Dr. Vance leads the Study Intervention team to select and implement TENS, as well as training sites in study procedures.
I am a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Department at the University of Iowa, having been in this role for over 20 years. I have been an active researcher throughout my appointment and work directly with Dr. Kathleen Sluka as a team member in the Neurobiology of Pain laboratory.
I have been enthusiastically involved in both basic and clinical research. I have been actively involved in developing protocols for specimen collection and analysis, quantitative sensory testing, patient-specific design and outcomes, development of intervention protocols and training for implementation of assessments and interventions. I have worked with various team to develop video training for testing procedures and intervention implementation for multi-site clinical trials. I served as the TENS coordinator investigating TENS efficacy in patients with fibromyalgia in a funded NIH-clinical trial (FAST), and currently I am the intervention team leader for our NIH funded pragmatic trial of TENS and fibromyalgia (FM-TIPS).
My roles have been diverse and include specialized training and experience in patient recruitment, weekly phone monitoring of subjects, development of testing and treatment protocols, dual site monitoring and training of research personnel, maintaining quality control standards, quantitative sensory testing assessment, and use of numerous pain assessment survey tools. In our BEST implementation trial, my primary role was to train primary care physicians and staff in effective use of exercise and TENS for treatment of acute and chronic pain, develop protocols and materials for implementation, and develop detailed written and video instructions for exercise and TENS.
I am also involved in the Acute to Chronic Pain Signatures (A2CPS) NIH funded HEAL imitative program as a member of the CCC with roles on the Psychosocial and Scientific Outreach Working groups. I will be involved in MCC site training and monitoring. As the team leader for the intervention working group, my role for FM TIPS will be to assist in development of protocols for TENS intervention, to develop the written and video training materials, and to train clinicians at 25 clinics in TENS and other study procedure protocols. In addition, I will assist in development of assessment tools to determine the barriers and facilitators experienced by participants, clinicians, and healthcare systems when implementing the use of TENS in the care of patients with Fibromyalgia.