Summit Educator

Niki Munk, PhD, LMT is Interim Chair and Associate Professor of Health Sciences in Indiana University’s School of Health and Human Sciences at IUPUI, a non-practicing Kentucky licensed massage therapist, and Massage Therapy Foundation Trustee. Dr. Munk is one of 13 international Fellows in ARCCIM’s International Complementary Medicine Research Leadership Program and co-investigator on the VA TOMCATT study which examines therapist applied and care-ally assisted massage therapy for Veterans with chronic neck pain. Dr. Munk earned her doctorate in Gerontology from the University of Kentucky in 2013 and her research explores real-world massage therapy for chronic pain and associated factors including emotional well-being, trigger point self-care, and accessibility challenges to massage. Prior to her academic career, Dr. Munk’s clinical massage practice focused on older adults, and she was the Program Director and instructor at the Lexington Healing Arts Academy.

Course:

Friday 4/21/23 3:30-5:00 PM

Breakout: PBRN’s to Facilitate Collaborative Connections within the Therapeutic Massage Profession

Practice-based research networks (PBRNs) facilitate collaborative connections for clinicians and researchers working together to develop and implement research projects that directly address real-world research questions, in real-world practice, with real-world populations, patients, and stakeholders.

Massage clinicians have few options to be involved in research yet there are a variety of ways within which massage clinicians can engage with research. PBRNs are a practical mechanism originating from the Family Medicine discipline and allows clinicians in a variety of disciplines to contribute to and be involved in research in various capacities.

MassageNet is a PBRN supported by the Massage Therapy Foundation that offers an opportunity for massage therapists to learn about and become involved in research. MassageNet projects intend to apply directly to the needs of massage stakeholders. This session will provide the foundations of what a PBRN is, how they work, and the status and descriptors for MassageNet and its relaunch.