• Higgins DM, Buta E, Heapy AA, Driscoll MA, Kerns RD, Masheb R, Becker WC, Hausmann LRM, Bair MJ, Wandner L, Janke EA, Brandt CA, Goulet JL. The Relationship Between Body Mass Index and Pain Intensity Among Veterans with Musculoskeletal Disorders: Findings from the MSD Cohort Study. Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.). 2020 Mar 18.
• Bair MJ, Outcalt SD, Ang D, Wu J, Yu Z. Pain and Psychological Outcomes Among Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans with Chronic Pain and PTSD: ESCAPE Trial Longitudinal Results. Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.). 2020 Mar 9.
• 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.). 2020 Mar 1; 21(3):501-510.
• Von Korff M, DeBar LL, Krebs EE, Kerns RD, Deyo RA, Keefe FJ. Graded chronic pain scale revised: mild, bothersome, and high-impact chronic pain. Pain. 2020 Mar 1; 161(3):651-661.
• Amspoker AB, Snow AL, Renn BN, Block P, Pickens S, Morgan RO, Kunik ME. Patient Versus Informal Caregiver Proxy Reports of Pain Interference in Persons With Dementia. Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society. 2020 Feb 6; 733464820902632.

» 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...
  
  
• Management Briefs eBrief-no125 - Effectiveness of Models Used to Deliver Multimodal Care for Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain
  ...clinically relevant improvement in rates of pain intensity and pain-related function over 9 to 12 months (NNT range, 4.1 to 12.70), as well as...
  
  
• Management Briefs eBrief-no131 - Measures for Patients with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain
  ...pain depends on the use of valid, reliable, and responsive measures of pain and pain-related outcomes. In 2016, HSR&D held a state-of-the-art...
  
  
• Management Briefs eBrief-no123 - Massage for Pain: An Evidence Map
  ...types of pain included in systematic reviews were neck pain (n=6), followed by low back pain, headache, or shoulder pain. Also included in some...
  
  
• Management Briefs eBrief-no122 - Benefits and Harms of Cannabis in Chronic Pain or PTSD
  ...with chronic pain or PTSD. Treatment of chronic pain There is limited evidence that cannabis may improve pain, spasticity, and sleep in select...
  
  

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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.