On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on the TechTO stage in 2018. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Jennifer ↗
In their words
I got the grant to actually develop the app but they don't give you money to sustain it
in Canada we only have ten pain clinics for children so there's a huge gap in access to care
just because we can build apps doesn't mean they're the right solution
most pain apps did not involve end users so they actually didn't involve young people in their development more importantly they didn't involve clinicians in their development
Around the web ×1
Quick answers
What is iCanCope?
A self-management platform for young people with chronic pain, built by SickKids with University Health Network's eHealth Innovation. It runs daily six-question check-ins, goal setting, a coping library and a peer community, and has been adapted for arthritis, sickle cell and post-operative pain.
What did Jennifer Stinson tell the HealthTO room?
That research grants fund building an app but not sustaining it, that most of the 300-plus pain apps she reviewed involved neither patients nor clinicians in their design, and that only one percent had any evidence they improved health outcomes.
What has Jennifer Stinson been recognised for?
The 2025 Peter Gilgan Canada Gairdner Momentum Award, which she was the first nurse clinician scientist to receive, for digital interventions that help children manage pain.