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stensland@uthscsa.edu

Departments & Divisions

Meredith L Stensland, Ph.D., LMSW

Assistant Professor of Research

As a scientist practitioner with a background in clinical social work, I am devoted to understanding and improving the lives of individuals who have physical and emotional pain. I worked as a hospice social worker for five years, and it was the emphasis placed on pain management at end-of-life that first led to my interest in researching pain. My research focuses on older adults living with chronic pain; I also study the utility of animal-assisted interventions for pain and depression in dialysis clinics.  In my clinical work, I facilitate a psychoeducational chronic pain therapy group.

  • Professional Background

    Education

    • 2017 - PhD - Social Work - University of Iowa
    • 2013 - MSW - Social Work - University of Northern Iowa
    • 2012 - BSW - Social Work - Wartburg College

    Appointments

    • 2020 - Assistant Professor - University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
    • 2019 - Research Associate - University of Texas at Austin

  • Research & Grants

    Grants

    “Racial disparity in the context of pain management; Developing, administering and evaluating an e-learning training curriculum to foster awareness and empathy in medical students.” (2021). University of Texas Kenneth I. Shine Academy of Health Science Education Small Grants Award.

  • Publications

      SELECT PUBLICATIONS

      Stensland, M. & McGeary, D. D. (2022). Use of animal-assisted interventions in relieving pain in healthcare settings: A systematic review. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 46, 101519.

      Stensland, M. (2021). Managing the incurable: Older pain clinic patients’ experiences of managing treatment-resistant chronic low back pain. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, doi: 10.1080/01634372.2021.1898073

      Stensland, M. (2020). “If you don’t keep going, you're gonna die.”:  Helplessness and perseverance among older adults living with chronic low back pain. The Gerontologist. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnaa150

      Stensland, M. & Sanders, S. (2018). “It has changed my whole life”: The systemic implications of chronic low back pain among older adults. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 61(2), 129-150.

      Stensland, M. & Sanders, S. (2018). Living a life full of pain: Older pain clinic patients’ experience of living with chronic low back pain. Qualitative Health Research, 28(9), 1434-1448.

      Stensland, M. & Sanders, S. (2018). Not so golden after all: The complexities of chronic low back pain in older adulthood. The Gerontologist, 58(5), 923-931.