Department / Division:
Medicine / Rheumatology and Immunology

Address:
DUMC 2978
Durham, NC 27710

Appointment Telephone:
919-668-7630

Office Telephone:
919-684-8844

Fax Telephone:
919-681-8298

• MD, Wake Forest University School of Medicine (North Carolina), 1971

• Internal Medicine, Emory University Hospitals (Georgia), 1971-1972
• Internal Medicine, George Washington University Hospitals (Washington, DC), 1972-1974

• Rheumatic and Genetic Diseases Fellowship, Duke University Medical Center, 1974-1976

Clinical Interests:
Inflammatory rheumatic diseases, osteoarthritis, crystal-induced disease, infectious arthritis, endocrine-related musculoskeletal disease, rheumatic manifestations of malignancy, behavioral therapy for rheumatic disorders

Research Interests:
Our current efforts are a continuation of our research evaluating the utility of congnitive behavioral methods for assessing and treating pain.  Ultimately it is our hope to help patients more effectively cope with long term demands of chronic and disabling pain due to both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.  

Our current research in osteoarthritis is to examine physiological and psychological responses to noxious stimuli in men and women with osteoarthritis.  We hope to learn more about differences in pain perception in men vs. women as well as any racial difference that may exist.  In addition, we hope to learn more specifically the possible mechanism of these gender differences in individuals with osteoarthritis.

Patients with RA are faced with the task of coping with numerous major life stresses associated with their disease and often experience emotional distress related to disruptions in their health, work, family and marital functioning.  With recognition of the psychosocial effects of RA has come increased interest in psychosocial approaches to treatment.  The long range goal of our research here is to reduce the pain, psychological disability, and physical disability experienced by patients having rheumatoid arthritis.  The study underway continues our research on psychosocial interventions for arthritis and is designed to test the hypothesis that a clinician - assisted emotional disclosure protocol can improve the long term functional status of patients with RA.

Representative Publications:
Keefe, F. J., Lefebvre, J. C., Maixner, W., Salley, A. N. And Caldwell, D. S. "Self-efficacy for Arthritis Pain: Relationship to Perception of Thermal Laboratory Pain Stimuli", Arthritis Care and Research, 10:177-184, June 1997. (1997)

Keefe, F. J., Caldwell, D. S. "Cognitive Behavioral Control of Arthritis Pain" in The Medical Clinics of North America: Advances in Rheumatology. Synderman, R., Haynes, B. F. (editors). W. B. Saunders Co., January 1997. (1997)

Keefe, F. J., Afflect, G., Lefebvre, J. C., Star, K., Caldwell, D. S., Tennen, H. "Pain Coping Strategies and Coping Efficacy in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Daily Process Analysis". Pain 69(1-2):35-42, January 1997. (1997)

Beupre, P., Keefe, F. J., Lester, N., Affleck, G., Frederickson, B., Caldwell, D. S. "A Computer-Assisted Observational Method for Assessing Spouses' Ratings of Osteoarthritis Patients' Pain. Psychology, Health and Medicine. Vol. II, #2, pp. 99-108, 1997. (1997)