Research can help find the optimal pathway to limit the negative impacts of pain.
Research & Researchers
Pain is often a complex problem in that everyone experiences it differently. In western medicine, we have very little pragmatic, clinical research on options for managing it effectively, nonpharmacological or otherwise. Additionally, the opioid epidemic has shown that pharmacological approaches may have only minimal benefit for the management of pain and the risk of substantial harms.
Pragmatic Clinical Trials
Research in Real-World Settings
Work Groups
Data Expertise & Best Practices
Guidance for Study Design and Proposals
Guidance for Study Design & Proposals A selection of publications, tools, and recommendations for developing strong proposals and adaptive studies Publications Presentations More Information Northwestern University’s Dissemination and Implementation Program Northwestern’s Center for Community Health (CCH) and the Center for Prevention Implementation Methodology formed the Dissemination and Implementation Program to provide education, training and consultation to
The Role of Health Informatics in Pain Management
Health informatics brings information to the fingertips of clinician-researchers and practicing clinicians to help with evidence-based care recommendations and improve patient outcomes.
From Our Work Groups
Featured Publications
Non-Opioid Drugs and Pain-Related Function
The SPACE Randomized Clinical Trial, led by Erin Krebs, MD, MS, showed that opioids do not result in better pain-related function or reduced pain intensity when compared to non-opioids. (VA photo by April Eilers)
Yale Scholars Tackle Opioid Crisis in Groundbreaking Journal Issue
More than two dozen Yale professors, doctors, and students have published a series of groundbreaking articles on the opioid crisis in the Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics.
Clinical Policy Recommendations from the VHA State-of-the-Art Conference
Participants in the SOTA conference identified nine non-pharmacological therapies with sufficient evidence to be implemented across the VHA system as part of pain care.
Non-Pharmacological Approaches to Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Management
Treatments such as mindfulness meditation, biofeedback, and hypnosis, among others, have been determined to have at least promising evidence of effectiveness for pain management. (Photo: Joseph Eddins)
Considerations of Trial Design and Conduct in Behavioral Interventions
For some nonpharmacological approaches for chronic pain management there is emerging evidence of their effectiveness in relatively large scale trials. (photo: Sgt Justin Boling)
Noninvasive Nonpharmacological Treatment for Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review
The US Dept. of Health & Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has issued a report on noninvasive nonpharmacological treatments for selected chronic pain conditions.
