Health Services Research & Development

• Hayes CJ, Krebs EE, Hudson T, Brown J, Li C, Martin BC. Impact of opioid dose escalation on pain intensity: a retrospective cohort study. Pain. 2020 Jan 7.
• Brunkow A, Cannon M, Graff FS, Martin JL, Hausmann LRM, McAndrew LM. Doctor recommendations are related to patient interest and use of behavioral treatment for chronic pain and addiction. The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society. 2020 Jan 2.
• Darnall BD, Mackey SC, Lorig K, Kao MC, Mardian A, Stieg R, Porter J, DeBruyne K, Murphy J, Perez L, Okvat H, Tian L, Flood P, McGovern M, Colloca L, King H, Van Dorsten B, Pun T, Cheung M. Comparative Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain and Chronic Pain Self-Management within the Context of Voluntary Patient-Centered Prescription Opioid Tapering: The EMPOWER Study Protocol. Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.). 2019 Dec 26.
• Vina ER, Hannon MJ, Masood H, Hausmann LRM, Ibrahim SA, Dagnino J, Arellano A, Kwoh CK. Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug Use in Chronic Arthritis Pain: Variations by Ethnicity. The American journal of medicine. 2019 Dec 17.
• Nevedal AL, Lewis ET, Wu J, Jacobs J, Jarvik JG, Chou R, Barnett PG. Factors Influencing Primary Care Providers' Unneeded Lumbar Spine MRI Orders for Acute, Uncomplicated Low-Back Pain: a Qualitative Study. Journal of general internal medicine. 2019 Dec 12.

» View more Citations

• Health is the Main Concern of Newly Separated Veterans
  This large study is the first in-depth investigation of U.S. Veterans’ health and well-being as they leave military service. Findings showed that health concerns were the most salient for newly separated Veterans, with many reporting that they had chronic physical (53%) or mental (33%) health conditions – and that they were less satisfied with their health than either their work or social relation...
  
  Date: December 28, 2019
• History of Military Sexual Trauma Common among Older Women Veterans
  This study sought to determine the prevalence of military sexual trauma (MST) among older women Veterans – and investigate associations between MST and medical and mental health diagnoses. Findings showed that a history of MST was common among older women Veterans. Positive MST screens were observed in nearly 1 in 5 women aged 55-64, and 1 in 10 aged 65-74. [This is similar to the 23% prevalence f...
  
  Date: November 11, 2019
• Strategies VA Clinicians Use to Structure Difficult Conversations Regarding Opioid Prescribing
  This study aimed to identify and describe clinicians’ strategies for managing prescription opioid misuse and aberrant behaviors among patients prescribed long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) for chronic pain. Interview results identified challenges faced by clinicians in navigating conversations about opioid management, stemming from patient dissatisfaction and clinician ambivalence about enacting guid...
  
  Date: July 1, 2019
• Opioid Prescribing Safety Initiative Effective in Decreasing Rates of Opioid Prescribing for Older Veterans with Osteoarthritis
  Investigators in this study examined national trends in opioid and non-opioid analgesic prescribing before and after implementation of VA’s Opioid Safety Initiative (OSI). Findings showed that before OSI implementation, total analgesic prescriptions showed a steady rise, which abruptly decreased to a flat trajectory after the OSI was implemented. This trend was primarily due to a decrease in opioi...
  
  Date: June 1, 2019
• Substantial Variation in Opioid Prescribing Rates among ED Providers in the Same VA Healthcare Facility
  The study team examined the extent to which variation in individual ED physicians’ opioid prescribing was independently associated with long-term opioid use in Veterans. Using VA data, investigators identified Veterans with an index ED visit at any VA facility in 2012 – and who were opioid naïve (without opioid prescriptions in the prior 6 months). Findings showed that there was a three-fold varia...
  
  Date: May 29, 2019

» View more Publication Briefs

» View more Studies

• FORUM, Spring 2016: Chronic pain, opioids
  ...Pain and the Science of Pain Management by Rollin M. Gallagher, MD, MPH, National Director for Pain Management, Veterans Health Administration...
  
  
• Mapping the Evidence: Sex Effects in High-impact Conditions for Women Veterans - Depression, Diabetes, and Chronic Pain
  ...Mapping the Evidence: Sex Effects in High-impact Conditions for Women Veterans Depression, Diabetes, and Chronic Pain Mapping the Evidence:...
  
  
• Pain in Patients with Polytrauma
  ...assessment tools been developed to measure pain intensity and pain-related functional interference among patients with cognitive deficits due...
  
  
• Assessment and Management of Acute Pain in Adult Medical Inpatients
  ...survey, 43% of medical ward patients experienced pain, and 12% reported unbearable pain. There are currently no pain-relevant performance measures...
  
  
• ESP Report: Massage for Pain: An Evidence Map
  ...ESP Report: Massage for Pain: An Evidence Map ESP Report: Massage for Pain: An Evidence Map Subscribe to the ESP Report RSS feed Principal Investigator:...
  
  

» View more Publications

» View more Cyberseminars

Videos

• Using Service Connected Disability Hearings as a Gateway to Pain Management 01/08/18
• Evaluating Integrated Pain Treatment 01/02/18

Podcasts

• Painful Conversations: Pain Management SCAN-ECHO Improves Provider Conversations with Patients about Pain Care 12/20/2018
• Pain Management and Opioid Safety 05/04/2018
• Clinical Dashboard Elements to Improve Chronic Pain Care 07/19/2017

Other Resources

• Learn more about the HSR&D Center of Innovation on Pain Research, Informatics, Multi-morbidities, and Education (PRIME) in West Haven, CT.
• Visit the pain topic page at the VA Office of Research & Development website to learn more about additional pain research in VA.
• Learn more about the NIH-DoD-VA Pain Management Collaboratory.