Jacqueline Nikpour, PhD student, published "Assessing Practice Patterns and Influential Factors for Nurse Practitioners Who Manage Chronic Pain" in the Pain Management Nursing with Dean Marion E. Broome and Susan Silva, associate professor.

Abstract

Chronic pain, defined by the National Academy of Medicine as persistent, unrelieved pain that lasts longer than 3 months, affects approximately 100 million Americans and is responsible for up to $635 billion in annual health care spending (Dieleman et al., 2016; Institute of Medicine, 2011a, Institute of Medicine, 2011b). This broad definition encompasses chronic pain-inducing conditions including chronic low-back pain, fibromyalgia, forms of arthritis, headache, chronic abdominal pain, and musculoskeletal degenerative changes; these conditions can have serious impacts on physical and mental functioning and significantly reduce quality of life (Institute of Medicine, 2011a, Institute of Medicine, 2011b). The prioritization of chronic pain reduction in the 1990s-2000s, along with drug makers labeling iatrogenic addiction as a very rare consequence, led to the proliferation of opioid therapy to decrease chronic pain and improve function (Institute of Medicine, 2011a; Merboth and Barnason, 2000; Zee, 2009). However more recently, the onset of the opioid overdose crisis has caused health care providers to rethink and restrict their opioid provision in order to help prevent opioid-related adverse events Han et al., 2015; Hulen et al., 2018; Kolodny et al., 2015; Paulozzi et al., 2012). Indeed, new guidelines for chronic pain management have included suggestions for providers to decrease their use of opioid medications and increase their usage of other nonopioid and nonpharmacologic strategies, such as muscle relaxants, physical therapy (PT), and topical treatments. 

Citation

Nikpour, J., Broome, M., & Silva, S. (2021). Assessing Practice Patterns and Influential Factors for Nurse Practitioners Who Manage Chronic Pain. Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses, S1524-9042(21)00014-X. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmn.2021.01.001