Karen Tran

Investigator, BC Children's Hospital
Physician, Obstetrical Medicine, BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre

Academic Affiliations

Clinical Assistant Professor, General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia

Research Theme

Healthy Starts

Research Group

Pathways to Healthy Birth

Research Areas

Managed Care

Pregnancy

Telemonitoring

Affiliate Websites

Centre for Health Evaluation & Outcome Sciences
UBC Division of General Internal Medicine

Contact

karen.tran@cw.bc.ca

Mailing Address

4500 Oak Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6H 3N1

Overview: Preeclampsia and high blood pressure (BP) in pregnancy affects 1 in 10 pregnancies. Currently, experts recommend that BPs are measured and medications are given based on BP readings in the maternity care-providers' offices. This may be inaccurate because pregnant women often have a "white–coat effect," experiencing a higher BP reading in the office. Many physicians already use home BP monitoring in pregnant women to get a more "accurate" BP reading. The problem with this approach is no guidelines for properly measuring BP at home exist in pregnancy. The goal of our research is to understand how physicians use HBPM and the experiences of home monitoring in pregnant women.
Research: Systematic review and meta-analysis of home blood pressure monitoring in pregnancy
Systematic review and meta-analysis of home blood pressure monitoring in pregnancy
We completed a systematic review and meta-analysis to understand how home blood pressure monitoring was used in pregnant women. We noted that wide variation in patterns of practice exist on how physicians prescribe home BP monitoring in pregnancy.
Validation of BpTRU, an automated blood pressure monitor, in pregnancy
BpTRU is a common automated BP monitor used in non-pregnant adults, however, little information exists on whether this is an accurate BP device in pregnancy. We conducted a validation study and found that BpTRU is not validated to be used in pregnancy or in women with preeclampsia.

Grants

UBC GIM CALI Physicians Coordinating Liaison Committee

Honours & Awards

Honour Roll for Clinical Teaching Excellence Award, University of British Columbia Department of Medicine. (June 2018, 2019)
Top Poster at North America Society of Obstetrical Medicine Conference (October 30, 2016)
Top Poster at Canadian Hypertension Congress (October 21, 2016)
Canadian Society of Internal Medicine Research and Education Fund (October 2015)

Research Group Members

Niamh Doran, Research Assistant
Alia Izquierdo, Research Coordinator

Stories See all

Congratulations CIHR Spring 2023 Project Grant recipients

Congratulations to the BC Children's Hospital Research Institute (BCCHR) and Women’s Health Research Institute (WHRI) investigators and their teams who were awarded funding through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Spring 2023 Project Grant competition. Our research community received around $8 million in new research grants as principal investigators or co-investigators.

Continue reading Congratulations CIHR Spring 2023 Project Grant recipients

Children with chronic medical conditions at greater risk of hospitalization from RSV

In a recent study, published in JAMA Network Open, researchers found that most children with chronic medical conditions face a significantly higher risk for hospitalization due to respiratory syncytial virus in their first two viral seasons than children without underlying conditions.

Continue reading Children with chronic medical conditions at greater risk of hospitalization from RSV

Study reveals that sucrose may not reduce the impact of neonatal pain exposure on long-term outcomes

Infants born two to four months early are exposed to mildly painful procedures in the NICU that are essential to monitor their health. As research shows that exposure to daily pain is associated with poorer behavioural and cognitive outcomes later in life, a common pain management strategy is to give those babies sucrose, but a BCCHR study shows evidence that a sugar solution doesn’t reduce these negative effects of pain exposure in the long term.

Continue reading Study reveals that sucrose may not reduce the impact of neonatal pain exposure on long-term outcomes

Five things you didn’t (but should) know about measles

BCCHR and UBC experts highlight surprising facts about measles, and the best way to protect you and your family.

Continue reading Five things you didn’t (but should) know about measles

Decoding kids' health through cheek swabs: What new research reveals

Cheek swabs — they’re painless, simple, and commonly used in pediatric research. But how reliable are they across different developmental periods? And what can they really tell us about children’s health?

Continue reading Decoding kids' health through cheek swabs: What new research reveals

HPV vaccine education in British Columbia: A Q&A with Dr. Hana Mitchell

BCCHR research highlights an exciting opportunity: schools can do more than deliver vaccines — they can spark knowledge! By integrating vaccine education into the curriculum, schools can boost confidence, empower students and families, and pave the way for stronger HPV vaccine uptake and cancer prevention.

Continue reading HPV vaccine education in British Columbia: A Q&A with Dr. Hana Mitchell

Donate to Research

We believe there’s nothing we can’t do with your support. It can take years to turn scientific breakthrough into new interventions and treatments. Funding helps speed the pace of change. When given the resources, we can bring transformative therapies – and hope – out of the laboratory and into the clinic to save and improve children’s lives.

Give Now