Chronic Pain and Research Methods Group (CPRM)

Duration: 2012 - 

List of groups and project members 

Participants: Professor Robert Froud (head), Kristiania University College/University of Warwick, UK, Dr. Pål André Amundsen, Kristiania University College, Martin Engedahl, Kristiania University College, Christian Fossum, Kristiania University College, Jo Andreas Gundersen, Kristiania University College, Ronja Stromborg Lund, Kristiania University College, Line Rølvaag, Kristiania University College, Kristiania University College, Professor Adnan Kisa, Kristiania University College.

Project members:  Professor Martin Underwood (University of Warwick), Professor Margreth Grotle (OsloMet),  Professor Kim Burton OBE, Professor Ira Malmberg-Heimonen (OsloMet), Dévan Rajendran (BCNO), Dr Bjønar Berg (Oslo Met), Dr Anouk Urhausen (OsloMet), Dr Amy Martinsen (University of Oslo), Dr Jakob Lothe (WFC), Jakob Thor E Holmgard (independent), Dr Pernille Irgens (OsloMet), Dr Rikke Killingmo (OsloMet), Professor Are Hugo Pripp (OsloMet), Jurgen De Wispelaere (University of Tampere/BIEN), Professor Axel West Pedersen (OsloMet), and Professor Ann-Helén Bay (OsloMet).  

International collaborations

Our work is strengthened by collaboration with established research environments in musculoskeletal health, pain research, and applied methodology. These partnerships support joint projects, shared methodological development, and the exchange of expertise across institutions, ensuring that our research remains outward-facing and aligned with international standards.

We welcome discussions with colleagues (both internal and external) and partners interested in strands of work. Please contact RobertJames.Froud@kristiania.no for further discussion.

Our work spans several interconnected areas. Currently, we are examining the relationships between pain, work, and welfare systems, including how structural and policy‑level factors shape health and participation.

This includes the NFR‑funded ReISE trial, in which we investigate supported employment as a route to improved work participation and health, for people living with chronic pain.

We are also developing a coherent research agenda around exploring potential health impacts of cash‑transfer and welfare interventions, including a systematic review of the health effects of Universal Basic Income and UBI‑like programmes.

Planned activity for 2026 is focused on underpinning work in this area and includes a Delphi study, systematic reviews, a discrete choice experiment development, and pragmatic trial design.

These underpinning methodological strands will strengthen our ability to subsequently undertake a larger programme of work that is empirically robust and directly relevant to practice and policy.

Alongside these substantive areas, the group maintains a methodological focus, contributing to thinking around study design, consensus methods, and metrics.