Flavia P. Kapos, DDS MS is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain and a PhD candidate in Epidemiology at University of Washington School of Public Health. She completed her Orofacial Pain residency and MS at the University of Minnesota, and DDS at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. Her research in pain epidemiology seeks to bridge biomedical, public health and social sciences to identify targets for chronic pain prevention and treatment at multiple levels of organization (e.g. individual, interpersonal, community, population). Her academic and clinical interests also include social determinants of health and pain disparities, orofacial pain education and evidence-based practice.

This presentation will provide an overview of the evolving understanding of chronic pain etiology, with emphasis on underexplored social and contextual factors beyond the individual (e.g. interpersonal, community, population). Using multi-level frameworks, attendees will be invited to critically appraise underlying assumptions and their consequences in pain research and practice, with the goal of highlighting opportunities for prevention and treatment. Illustrative examples will include AAOP-funded research about the role of neighborhood disadvantage and healthcare policy on the burden of chronic pain in US adults.