• Kerns RD, Burgess DJ, Coleman BC, Cook CE, Farrokhi S, Fritz JM, Goertz C, Heapy A, Lisi AJ, Rhon DI, Vining R. Self-Management of Chronic Pain: Psychologically Guided Core Competencies for Providers. Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.). 2022 Oct 29; 23(11):1815-1819.
• Chen JA, Anderson ML, Cherkin DC, Balderson BH, Cook AJ, Sherman KJ, Turner JA. Moderators and Nonspecific Predictors of Treatment Benefits in a Randomized Trial of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction vs. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy vs. Usual Care for Chronic Low Back Pain. The journal of pain. 2022 Sep 27.
• Munk N, Daggy JK, Evans E, Kline M, Slaven JE, Laws B, Foote T, Matthias MS, Bair MJ. Therapist-Delivered Versus Care Ally-Assisted Massage for Veterans With Chronic Neck Pain: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR research protocols. 2022 Sep 27; 11(9):e38950.
• Hammett PJ, Eliacin J, Makris UE, Allen KD, Kerns RD, Heapy A, Elizabeth GS, Meis LA, Taylor BC, Saenger M, Cross LJS, Do T, Branson M, Burgess DJ. An Analysis of the Role of Mental Health in a Randomized Trial of a Walking Intervention for Black Veterans with Chronic Pain. The journal of pain. 2022 Sep 23.
• Senders A, Bauer SR, Chen Y, Oken B, Fink HA, Lane NE, Sajadi KP, Marshall LM, Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) Study Group. Musculoskeletal pain, a possible indicator of central sensitization, is positively associated with lower urinary tract symptom progression in community dwelling older men. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. 2022 Sep 23.

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• AI-Guided Pain Care Might Work as Well as Phone Therapy
  Investigators in this study developed a cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic pain (CBT-CP) intervention using artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically adjust the modality of weekly therapist interactions based on patient feedback reported daily via interactive voice response (IVR). This trial evaluated this intervention (AI-CBT-CP) relative to therapist-delivered telephone CBT-CP. Finding...
  
  Date: September 1, 2022
• Low-Value Service Use Common and Costly among Veterans Enrolled in VA Healthcare
  This study sought to quantify Veterans’ overall use and cost of low-value services, including VA-delivered care and VA-purchased community care. Findings showed that low-value service use is common and costly across a variety of VA services. In this study cohort, 19.6 low-value services per 100 Veterans were delivered by VA facilities or VA Community Care programs in fiscal year 2018, which involv...
  
  Date: July 5, 2022
• PTSD-Multimorbidity in Recently Discharged Veterans Predicts Poor Social Functioning, Increasing Risk for Suicidal Ideation
  A growing body of literature suggests that problems experienced by Veterans during their transition from military to civilian life confer significant risk for suicidal ideation (SI). One of these problems is PTSD, which, along with chronic pain and sleep disturbance, can increase risk for SI. Findings from this study showed that at approximately 15 months post-separation, almost 91% of Veterans wi...
  
  Date: June 2, 2022
• Research Suggests Battlefield Acupuncture is Immediate but Short-Term Pain Management Tool
  This commentary summarizes work conducted to examine battlefield acupuncture’s (BFA’s) implementation and effectiveness within the VA healthcare system. Findings show that there is some evidence that BFA is a potentially effective, immediate, but short-term pain management tool that can be used in adjunct with other pain therapies. BFA produced a minimal clinically important improvement in pain fo...
  
  Date: March 26, 2021
• JGIM Supplement Features VA Research on Improving Opioid Safety among Veterans with Chronic Pain and Addiction
  In the fall of 2019, HSR&D convened a state-of-the-art (SOTA) conference – “Effective Management of Pain and Addiction: Strategies to Improve Opioid Safety” – to develop research priorities for advancing the science and clinical practice of opioid safety, including both the use of opioid analgesics and managing opioid use disorder (OUD). A group of researchers and VA clinical stakeholders defined ...
  
  Date: December 1, 2020

» View more Publication Briefs

» View more Studies

• Evidence Brief: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for Chronic Pain, PTSD, TBI, Opioid Addiction, and Sexual Trauma - Supplementary Materials

  Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for Chronic Pain, PTSD, TBI, Opioid Addiction, and Sexual...Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for Chronic Pain, PTSD, TBI, Opioid Addiction, and Sexual...Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for Chronic Pain, PTSD, TBI, Opioid Addiction, and Sexual

• Benefits and Harms of Cannabis in Chronic Pain or Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review

  Benefits and Harms of Cannabis in Chronic Pain or Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: A...Benefits and Harms of Cannabis in Chronic Pain or Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: A...Benefits and Harms of Cannabis for Chronic Pain or PTSD Evidence-based Synthesis Program

• Chronic Pain in Veterans and Servicemembers with a History of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review

  Chronic Pain in Veterans and Servicemembers with a History of Mild Traumatic...Chronic Pain in Veterans and Servicemembers with a History of Mild Traumatic...Kansagara, MD, MCR, Director Chronic Pain in Veterans and Servicemembers with

• Implementation of Psychotherapies and Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction for Chronic Pain and Chronic Mental Health Conditions: A Systematic Review

  Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction for Chronic Pain and Chronic Mental Health Conditions:...Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction for Chronic Pain and Chronic Mental Health Conditions:...Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction for Chronic Pain and Chronic Mental Health Conditions:

• FORUM, Spring 2016: Chronic pain, opioids

  ...importance of pain research in VHA has never been higher. Defining pain as a public...Integrative Health Approaches to Addressing Pain Stephanie L. Taylor, PhD, HSR&D Center...half of Veterans experience chronic pain, making it the most common condition

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» View more Cyberseminars

Videos

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

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.