HIGHLIGHTS
- Managing opioid use among older adults has received little attention.
- This project included an environmental scan, a survey, a compendium of strategies, and learning collaboratives.
- Abt created tools/resources to improve pain management for older adults.
The Challenge
Older adults are twice as likely as the general population to have pain, and clinicians often rely on opioid treatment. As a result, opioid use, misuse, and opioid use disorder have increased among older adults, who are vulnerable to adverse reactions due to changes in metabolism, comorbidities, and drug interactions. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality awarded Abt and Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute a contract to test PCP strategies for managing pain and opioid use in older adults.
The Approach
The Abt team performed an environmental scan, published a Federal Registry Notice (FRN), interviewed exemplar primary care practices to identify innovations, and conducted a national survey of providers who treated older adults. The team developed a compendium of strategies comprised of tools and resources identified from the environmental scan, FRN responses, and interviews with exemplar practices. The team also supported two sequential, 15-month learning collaboratives of PCPs that implemented and tested tools and resources from the compendium.
The Results
The four-year project, which started in 2019, produced the compendium of strategies, tools and resources to assist providers with the safe management of pain among older adults. The project also produced informational products such as peer-reviewed publications and infographics.
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