Decreasing Loneliness to Optimize Pain Care

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · Feb 21, 2024

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

Patients with chronic pain on opioids frequently experience loneliness, which is associated with poorer health outcomes and higher risks for opioid misuse and opioid use disorder. Given that almost half of opioids are prescribed in primary care, a critical need exists for the development and testing of interventions to reduce loneliness in primary care patients at risk for opioid misuse. The long-term goal of the study is to reduce opioid misuse and opioid use disorder by addressing loneliness in primary care with patients on chronic opioids. Interventions addressing maladaptive social cogn...

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • 18 years or older
• • English-speaking
• • On chronic opioids (defined as defined as 3 or more months receiving prescribed opioids \[functional definition is 3 or more opioid prescriptions each less than 21 days apart as per our prior studies\])
• • With a score greater or equal to 6 on the UCLA Loneliness 3-item Scale
• • Have a chronic pain diagnosis
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Have cancer-related pain
• • Are on palliative care or live in a controlled setting (i.e., assisted living, nursing home or inpatient treatment facility)
• • Have an upcoming scheduled surgery
• • Severe cognitive impairment or active psychosis