Jeffrey I. Gold, MD

Positions and Employment1987 – 1988 Research Assistant, Social Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara. 1989 – 1990 Rotating Trainee, Kindergarten Intervention Program (KIP) Los Angeles School Mental Health Services. 1990 – 1990 Research Assistant, Autism Project, Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles. 1990 – 1991 Rotating Trainee, San Fernando Valley Child Guidance Clinic. 1991 – 1993 Staff Research Associate, Schizophrenia and substance abuse research, West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Medical Center-Brentwood Division, University of California, Los Angeles Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital. 1993 – 1997 Clinical Research Assistant, Childhood psychiatric and chronic illnesses research, Departments of Psychiatry and Hematology, Children’s Hospital Oakland.1995 – 1996 Rotating Trainee, Counseling Center, University of California, Davis.1996 – 1997 Rotating Trainee, Psychological Service Center, California School of Professional Psychology.1997 – 1998 Pre-Doctoral Internship, Psychology, Boston Department of Veterans Affairs Psychology Internship Consortium (APA-accredited), Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston.1998 – 1999 Research Fellowship, Psychology, National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Women’s Health and Sciences Division, Boston VA Medical Center, Boston.2000 – 2001 Post-Doctoral Fellow/ Assistant Research Scientist, Psychology, Departments of Psychiatry and Hematology/Oncology, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, Oakland.2002 – 2004 Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.2004 – 2009 Assistant Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology Anesthesiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.2006 – 2009 Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.2009 – 2015 Associate Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology and Pediatrics Anesthesiology and Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.2012 – Current Founder and Faculty member of the USC Institute for Integrative Health & Wellness Program. Accepted into “The Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine.” University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.2015 – Current Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology and Pediatrics, Anesthesiology and Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.2019 – Current. Professor (Joint Appointment) Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.2022 – Current Professor (Joint Appointment) Professor, Clinical Scholar Anesthesiology, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.Jeffrey I. Gold, PhD, is a Professor (Clinical Scholar) in the Departments of Anesthesiology, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California. Gold is a licensed clinical psychologist, Director Emeritus and Founder of the Pediatric Pain Management Clinic within the comprehensive interdisciplinary Pain Medicine Division in the Department of Anesthesiology Critical Care Medicine at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). Gold has been a diversely funded (i.e., NIH, philanthropic, foundation, industry) clinical research scientist and the director of The Biobehavioral Pain Lab, the CHLA Children’s Outcomes, Research, and Evaluation (C.O.R.E.) program, current director and co-founder of the USC Institute for Integrative Health & Wellness (IIHW), PI for the Pediatric Integrative medicine (PIM) program, and faculty within The Department of Psychology in the Pediatric Psychology specialization at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Throughout his career he has been proud to uphold the scientist-practitioner paradigm of clinical discovery and patient care. He’s always believed that everything you do, must also be studied/evaluated. Gold has a long career in working with children, adolescents, emerging adults, and adults in clinical and clinical research contexts. He has specialized in the assessment, treatment, and clinical investigation of acute and chronic pain and health outcomes (e.g., health-related quality of life, sleep) in children, adolescents, and adults with various chronic medical illnesses, such as sickle cell disease, chronic pain, cancer, and co-morbid psychiatric conditions, such as PTSD, depression, ADHD, and anxiety disorders. He is actively engaged in the evaluation and utility of digital therapeutics (i.e., virtual reality, XR, digital mobile applications, virtual care) focused on patients and their families and healthcare providers targeting health and mental health outcomes (i.e., reducing stress, pain, anxiety, psychological distress), while increasing comfort, satisfaction, and overall health outcomes and wellness. Lastly, Gold is engaged in the ongoing delivery and evaluation of PIM practices, such as mindfulness, yoga, acupuncture, massage, and biofeedback.After graduating with his doctoral degree in clinical psychology (1999), he completed a research fellowship at the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress in Boston and later a clinical postdoctoral fellowship in the Departments of Hematology/Oncology and Psychiatry at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. Her has been a proud member of both the CHLA and USC communities for more than two decades has had the pleasure to partner with interdisciplinary teams and provide leadership on a variety of committees, programs, clinical care, and scientific discovery. Being a mission and vision driven faculty with an eye toward innovation Gold has had the privilege to collaborate with other like-minded faculty and staff to build programs that are sensitive to patients, families, peers, and trainees alike in the pursuit of healthcare and discovery. Working within CHLA and USC for more than two decades , he has been focused on the provision of “Whole Person Health” to underserved, economically marginalized and disadvantaged children/adolescents and their families. As a faculty member at CHLA and USC he has enjoyed functioning on numerous interdisciplinary healthcare teams and cross-disciplinary investigators in scientific discovery, while elevating patient advocacy through his work as the CHLA IRB chair, the director of the USC IIHW, and participation in numerous USC campus committees, such as the USC Task Force on Interdisciplinary Communities (Nominated/Appointed jointly by the Academic Senate and the Provost with oversight provided by the Academic Senate), and the Keck Well-Being Council.PRIMARY AREAS OF RESEARCHBiopsychosocial, neurodevelopmental, and neurobehavioral investigations of acute and chronic pain, chronic illness and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in medically ill children and adolescents. Investigating the role virtual reality (VR) for procedural distress (i.e., pain and anxiety) for children and adolescents. Dr. Gold is actively engaged in the evaluation and utility of complementary and alternative medicine (i.e., virtual reality, massage, acupuncture, massage, yoga, mindfulness) for reducing pain, anxiety, psychological distress and increasing comfort and satisfaction in hospitalized children.

• Adverse Experiences, Protective Factors, and Obesity in Latinx and Hispanic Youths. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Dec 01; 8(12):e2547104.. View in PubMed
• Delirium and Cognitive Dysfunction in and Beyond the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Pediatr Neurol. 2025 Dec; 173:182-190.. View in PubMed
• Extended Reality (XR) in Pediatric Acute and Chronic Pain: Systematic Review and Evidence Gap Map. JMIR Pediatr Parent. 2025 Apr 07; 8:e63854.. View in PubMed
• AMXRA Guidelines on Extended Reality (XR) and Children: Considerations for Safe and Effective Application Development and Use. J Med Ext Real. 2025 04; 2(1):104-113.. View in PubMed
• Budget Impact Analysis of Integrative Medicine Practices for Pediatric Patients With Chronic Pain. Clin J Pain. 2025 Mar 01; 41(3).. View in PubMed
• Exploring Relations Between Unique Patient Characteristics and Virtual Reality Immersion Level on Anxiety and Pain in Patients Undergoing Venipuncture: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Control Trial. J Med Internet Res. 2024 07 01; 26:e53196.. View in PubMed
• Prehospitalization Trauma and Physiologic Factors Associated with the Presence of Post-traumatic Stress 3 Months After PICU Discharge. J Intensive Care Med. 2024 03; 39(3):268-276.. View in PubMed
• Does Acupuncture Hurt? A Retrospective Study on Pain and Satisfaction during Pediatric Acupuncture. Children (Basel). 2023 Nov 01; 10(11).. View in PubMed
• High rates of anxiety detected in mothers of children with inconclusive cystic fibrosis screening results. J Cyst Fibros. 2023 May; 22(3):420-426.. View in PubMed
• Heart Rate Variability biofeedback therapy for children and adolescents with chronic pain: A pilot study. J Pediatr Nurs. 2022 Sep-Oct; 66:151-159.. View in PubMed
• Yes, we CAM: Increasing physician communication about complementary and alternative medicine through electronic medical record prompts in a pediatric hospital. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2021 Nov; 45:101449.. View in PubMed
• Effect of an Immersive Virtual Reality Intervention on Pain and Anxiety Associated With Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Placement in the Pediatric Setting: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 08 02; 4(8):e2122569.. View in PubMed
• A Secondary Analysis of Integrated Pediatric Chronic Pain Services Related to Cost Savings. J Clin Psychol Med Settings. 2021 06; 28(2):374-383.. View in PubMed
• Leveraging Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality to Combat Chronic Pain in Youth: Position Paper From the Interdisciplinary Network on Virtual and Augmented Technologies for Pain Management. J Med Internet Res. 2021 04 26; 23(4):e25916.. View in PubMed
• “Doc McStuffins: Doctor for a Day” Virtual Reality (DocVR) for Pediatric Preoperative Anxiety and Satisfaction: Pediatric Medical Technology Feasibility Study. J Med Internet Res. 2021 04 19; 23(4):e25504.. View in PubMed
• Admission Psychosocial Characteristics of Critically Ill Children and Acute Stress. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2021 02 01; 22(2):194-203.. View in PubMed
• Pain Profiles among Young Adult Cannabis Users: An Analysis of Antecedent Factors and Distal Outcomes. Subst Use Misuse. 2021; 56(8):1144-1154.. View in PubMed
• Examining relations between neuropsychological and clinical epilepsy-specific factors with psychopathology and adaptive skills outcomes in youth with intractable epilepsy. Epilepsy Behav. 2020 09; 110:107171.. View in PubMed
• A comprehensive examination of the immediate recovery of children following tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2020 Aug; 135:110106.. View in PubMed
• The Role of Medical Specialization on Posttraumatic Symptoms in Pediatric Nurses. J Pediatr Nurs. 2020 Jul – Aug; 53:22-28.. View in PubMed
• Socially-Assistive Robots Using Empathy to Reduce Pain and Distress during Peripheral IV Placement in Children. Pain Res Manag. 2020; 2020:7935215.. View in PubMed
• Children and their parents’ assessment of postoperative surgical pain: Agree or disagree? Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2019 Aug; 123:84-92.. View in PubMed
• Postoperative heart failure after stage 1 palliative surgery for single ventricle cardiac disease. Pediatr Cardiol. 2019 Jun; 40(5):943-949.. View in PubMed
• Socially Assistive Robots for Helping Pediatric Distress and Pain: A Review of Current Evidence and Recommendations for Future Research and Practice. Clin J Pain. 2019 05; 35(5):451-458.. View in PubMed
• The Effects of Family Functioning on the Development of Posttraumatic Stress in Children and Their Parents Following Admission to the PICU. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2019 04; 20(4):e208-e215.. View in PubMed
• Parental satisfaction of child’s perioperative care. Paediatr Anaesth. 2018 11; 28(11):955-962.. View in PubMed
• An evaluation of preoperative anxiety in Spanish-speaking and Latino children in the United States. Paediatr Anaesth. 2018 08; 28(8):719-725.. View in PubMed
• Does Pain Intensity Matter? The Relation between Coping and Quality of Life in Pediatric Patients with Chronic Pain. J Pediatr Nurs. 2018 May – Jun; 40:7-13.. View in PubMed
• Happier Healers: Randomized Controlled Trial of Mobile Mindfulness for Stress Management. J Altern Complement Med. 2018 May; 24(5):505-513.. View in PubMed
• Is Virtual Reality Ready for Prime Time in the Medical Space? A Randomized Control Trial of Pediatric Virtual Reality for Acute Procedural Pain Management. J Pediatr Psychol. 2018 04 01; 43(3):266-275.. View in PubMed
• A Cost-Analysis of an Interdisciplinary Pediatric Chronic Pain Clinic. J Pain. 2018 02; 19(2):158-165.. View in PubMed
• Mindfulness for Novice Pediatric Nurses: Smartphone Application Versus Traditional Intervention. J Pediatr Nurs. 2017 Sep – Oct; 36:205-212.. View in PubMed
• Antidepressants for chronic non-cancer pain in children and adolescents. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017 08 05; 8:CD012535.. View in PubMed
• Mental Health Screening Among Adolescents and Young Adults in the Emergency Department. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2017 Jan; 33(1):5-9.. View in PubMed
• Health-related quality of life in mucopolysaccharidosis: looking beyond biomedical issues. Orphanet J Rare Dis. 2016 08 26; 11(1):119.. View in PubMed
• March of the Living, a Holocaust Educational Tour: An Assessment of Anxiety and Depression. J Relig Health. 2016 Jun; 55(3):1000-1009.. View in PubMed
• Rising to the challenge of preventing pediatric intensive care unit admissions. J Crit Care. 2015 Dec; 30(6):1413-4.. View in PubMed
• Pediatric Early Warning Score and unplanned readmission to the pediatric intensive care unit. J Crit Care. 2015 Oct; 30(5):1090-5.. View in PubMed
• Examining pediatric emergency home ventilation practices in home health nurses: Opportunities for improved care. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2015 Jul; 50(7):691-7.. View in PubMed
• Psychometric evaluation of the child PTSD symptom scale in Spanish and English. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2015 Jun; 46(3):438-44.. View in PubMed
• Effects of acupuncture on pain and inflammation in pediatric emergency department patients with acute appendicitis: a pilot study. J Altern Complement Med. 2015 May; 21(5):269-72.. View in PubMed
• Satisfaction with care and decision making among parents/caregivers in the pediatric intensive care unit: a comparison between English-speaking whites and Latinos. J Crit Care. 2015 Apr; 30(2):236-41.. View in PubMed
• An on-the-job mindfulness-based intervention for pediatric ICU nurses: a pilot. J Pediatr Nurs. 2015 Mar-Apr; 30(2):402-9.. View in PubMed
• Pediatric novice nurses: examining compassion fatigue as a mediator between stress exposure and compassion satisfaction, burnout, and job satisfaction. J Pediatr Nurs. 2015 Jan-Feb; 30(1):174-83.. View in PubMed
• The effect of neighborhood and individual characteristics on pediatric critical illness. J Community Health. 2014 Aug; 39(4):753-9.. View in PubMed
• Neuroimaging abnormalities in adults with sickle cell anemia: associations with cognition. Neurology. 2014 Mar 11; 82(10):835-41.. View in PubMed
• Acute stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms among English and Spanish speaking children with recent trauma exposure. J Clin Psychol Med Settings. 2014 Mar; 21(1):66-71.. View in PubMed
• Group cohesion and organizational commitment: protective factors for nurse residents’ job satisfaction, compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burnout. J Prof Nurs. 2014 Jan-Feb; 30(1):89-99.. View in PubMed
• March of the living, a holocaust educational tour: effect on adolescent Jewish identity. J Relig Health. 2013 Dec; 52(4):1402-14.. View in PubMed
• Psychometric evaluation of a modified version of the family satisfaction in the ICU survey in parents/caregivers of critically ill children*. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2013 Oct; 14(8):e350-6.. View in PubMed
• Development and psychometric evaluation of child acute stress measures in Spanish and English. J Trauma Stress. 2013 Feb; 26(1):19-27.. View in PubMed
• Mood and health-related quality of life among pediatric patients with heart failure. Pediatr Cardiol. 2013 Feb; 34(2):431-7.. View in PubMed
• Neurocognitive functioning in children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: a pilot study of positive airway pressure therapy. J Pediatr Nurs. 2012 Dec; 27(6):607-13.. View in PubMed
• Pica in children with sickle cell disease: two case reports. J Pediatr Nurs. 2012 Dec; 27(6):e65-70.. View in PubMed
• Occult psychosocial impairment in a pediatric emergency department population. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2012 Dec; 28(12):1334-7.. View in PubMed
• The relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder, mood states, functional status, and quality of life in oncology outpatients. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2012 Oct; 44(4):520-31.. View in PubMed
• Relations between anxiety sensitivity, somatization, and health-related quality of life in children with chronic pain. J Pediatr Psychol. 2012 Aug; 37(7):808-16.. View in PubMed
• Posttraumatic stress disorder in children and their parents following admission to the pediatric intensive care unit: a review. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2012 May; 13(3):338-47.. View in PubMed
• The mediating effects of family functioning on psychosocial outcomes in healthy siblings of children with sickle cell disease. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2011 Dec 01; 57(6):1055-61.. View in PubMed
• Posttraumatic stress symptoms following pregnancy complicated by hyperemesis gravidarum. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2011 Nov; 24(11):1307-11.. View in PubMed
• Virtual reality and pain management: current trends and future directions. Pain Manag. 2011 Mar; 1(2):147-157.. View in PubMed
• Revisiting the Sham: Is It all Smoke and Mirrors? Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2011; 2011:842767.. View in PubMed
• Holocaust student tour: the impact on spirituality and health. Isr J Psychiatry Relat Sci. 2011; 48(3):186-94.. View in PubMed
• State trait anxiety in the emergency department: an analysis of anticipatory and life stressors. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2010 Dec; 26(12):897-901.. View in PubMed
• Neuropsychological dysfunction and neuroimaging abnormalities in neurologically intact adults with sickle cell anemia. JAMA. 2010 May 12; 303(18):1823-31.. View in PubMed
• Pediatric acupuncture: a review of clinical research. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2009 Dec; 6(4):429-39.. View in PubMed
• Touch and massage for medically fragile infants. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2009 Dec; 6(4):473-82.. View in PubMed
• Pain, fatigue, and health-related quality of life in children and adolescents with chronic pain. Clin J Pain. 2009 Jun; 25(5):407-12.. View in PubMed
• Pediatric disaster preparedness in the medical setting: integrating mental health. Am J Disaster Med. 2009 May-Jun; 4(3):137-46.. View in PubMed
• Pediatric chronic pain and health-related quality of life. J Pediatr Nurs. 2009 Apr; 24(2):141-50.. View in PubMed
• The use of virtual reality for pain control: a review. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2009 Apr; 13(2):100-9.. View in PubMed
• Psychosocial and behavioral outcomes in children with sickle cell disease and their healthy siblings. J Behav Med. 2008 Dec; 31(6):506-16.. View in PubMed
• Evidence-based assessment in pediatric psychology: family measures. J Pediatr Psychol. 2008 Oct; 33(9):1046-61; discussion 1062-4.. View in PubMed
• An expanded Transactional Stress and Coping Model for siblings of children with sickle cell disease: family functioning and sibling coping, self-efficacy and perceived social support. Child Care Health Dev. 2008 Jul; 34(4):491-502.. View in PubMed
• Detection and assessment of stroke in patients with sickle cell disease: neuropsychological functioning and magnetic resonance imaging. Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2008 Jun; 25(5):409-21.. View in PubMed
• The impact of unintentional pediatric trauma: a review of pain, acute stress, and posttraumatic stress. J Pediatr Nurs. 2008 Apr; 23(2):81-91.. View in PubMed
• Pediatric massage therapy: an overview for clinicians. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2007 Dec; 54(6):1025-41; xii-xiii.. View in PubMed
• Practitioner review: clinical applications of pediatric hypnosis. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2007 Aug; 48(8):744-54.. View in PubMed
• The neurobiology of virtual reality pain attenuation. Cyberpsychol Behav. 2007 Aug; 10(4):536-44.. View in PubMed
• Pediatric guidelines. Explore (NY). 2006 Sep-Oct; 2(5):386-7.. View in PubMed
• Effectiveness of virtual reality for pediatric pain distraction during i.v. placement. Cyberpsychol Behav. 2006 Apr; 9(2):207-12.. View in PubMed

• Betz, Cecily
• Khemani, Robinder
• Leventhal, Adam
• Newth, Christopher
• Unger, Jennifer
• Demetriades, Demetrios
• Wetzel, Randall