Health Services Research & Development

• Koffel E, Kats AM, Kroenke K, Bair MJ, Gravely A, DeRonne B, Donaldson MT, Goldsmith ES, Noorbaloochi S, Krebs EE. Sleep Disturbance Predicts Less Improvement in Pain Outcomes: Secondary Analysis of the SPACE Randomized Clinical Trial. Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.). 2019 Sep 14.
• Zimmaro LA, Carson JW, Olsen MK, Sanders LL, Keefe FJ, Porter LS. Greater Mindfulness Associated With Lower Pain, Fatigue, and Psychological Distress in Women with Metastatic Breast Cancer. Psycho-oncology. 2019 Sep 11.
• Weiner DK, Gentili A, Rossi M, Coffey-Vega K, Rodriguez KL, Hruska KL, Hausmann L, Perera S. Aging Back Clinics-a Geriatric Syndrome Approach to Treating Chronic Low Back Pain in Older Adults: Results of a Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial. Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.). 2019 Sep 10.
• Tighe CA, Youk A, Ibrahim SA, Weiner DK, Vina ER, Kwoh CK, Gallagher RM, Bramoweth AD, Hausmann LRM. Pain Catastrophizing and Arthritis Self-Efficacy as Mediators of Sleep Disturbance and Osteoarthritis Symptom Severity. Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.). 2019 Aug 22.
• Mitchell CM, Guthrie KA, Larson J, Diem S, LaCroix AZ, Caan B, Shifren JL, Woods NF, Heiman JR, Lindau ST, Reed SD. Sexual frequency and pain in a randomized clinical trial of vaginal estradiol tablets, moisturizer, and placebo in postmenopausal women. Menopause (New York, N.Y.). 2019 Aug 1; 26(8):816-822.

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• 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
• Rural and Western Region Veterans Prescribed More Opioids Than Urban, Other Regions
  This study sought to characterize regional variation in opioid prescribing across VA and examine prescribing differences between rural and urban Veterans. Findings showed substantial rural-urban variation in VA opioid prescribing, with rural Veterans receiving over 30% more opioids than their urban counterparts, with most of the difference attributable to long-term use. Utilization was lowest in t...
  
  Date: May 21, 2019
• Many VA Patients Use and are Interested in Learning More about Complementary and Integrated Health Options
  In part to guide the expansion of evidence-based complementary and integrative health (CIH), VA leaders sought current information on Veterans’ interest in and use of various CIH approaches, both inside and outside the VA healthcare system. Thus, investigators in this study analyzed survey results from a large sample of Veterans on their interest in, use of, and satisfactions with 26 CIH approache...
  
  Date: April 22, 2019

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» 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:...
  
  

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» 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.