For Researchers

Table of Contents

Research Priorities

VA Pain/Opioid CORE Research Priorities

These priorities are based on two recent VA Health Systems Research (HSR) State of the Art (SOTA) Conferences (see below for links to the specific SOTA summaries).

Pain/Opioid HSR SOTA Conferences

Consensus Recommendations

This is a non-exhaustive list. Inclusion on this list does not imply endorsement by the VA Pain/Opioid CORE.

Veterans Health Administration

  • Core Outcome Measures for Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Research: Recommendations from a Veterans Health Administration Work Group. Pain Med. 2019 Aug1;20(8):1500-1508.doi: 10.1093/pm/pny279. [PubMed Link]

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

  • Report of the NIH Task Force on Research Standards for Chronic Low Back Pain. Phys Ther. 2015 Feb; 9592):e1-e18. doi:10.2522/ptj2015.95.2.e1. [PubMed Link]
  • NIH's Helping to End Addiction Long-term SM Initiative (NIH HEAL Initiative) Clinical Pain Management Common Data Element Program. J Pain. 2021 Sep 9; S1526-5900(21)00321-7. doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2021.08.005. [PubMed Link]

Initiative on Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials (IMMPACT)

  • Core outcome measures for chronic pain clinical trials: IMMPACT recommendations. Pain. 2005 Jan;113(1-2):9-19. doi: 10.1016/j.pain2004.09.012 [PubMed Link]
  • Interpreting the clinical importance of treatment outcomes in chronic pain clinical trials; IMMPACT recommendations. J Pain. 2008 Feb;9(2):105-21. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2007.09.005 [PubMed Link]

Epidemiology

This is a non-exhaustive list. Inclusion on this list does not imply endorsement by the VA Pain/Opioid CORE.

General Veteran Population Data

  • The National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics develops statistical analyses and reports on a broad range of topics, operates VA's data and statistics Web portal to disseminate Veteran data and statistics , and develops estimates and projections on Veteran populations. the website provides a wide variety of data and resources. 

Pain Prevalence

  • Prevalence of Chronic Pain and High-Impact Chronic Among Adults - United States, 2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2018 Sep 14; 67(36): 1001-1006. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6736a2 [PubMed Link]
  • Severe Pain in Veterans: The Impact of Age and Sex, and Comparisons to the General Population. J Pain. 2017 Mar; 18(3): 247-254. doi:10.1016/j.pain.2016.10.021 [PubMed Link]

Pain in the Context of Other Chronic Conditions

  • The State of US Health, 1990-2016: Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Among US States. JAMA. 2018 Apr 10;319(14):1444-1472. doi: 10.1001/jama.2018.0158. [PubMed Link]
  • US Health Care Spending by Payer and Health Condition, 1996-2016. JAMA. 2020 Mar 3;323(9):863-884. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.0734. [PubMed Link]

Veteran Engagement

Resources and tools that support Veteran-engaged research. This is a non-exhaustive list. Unless otherwise stated, resources are provided without express endorsement by the VA Pain/Opioid CORE.

Pain/Opioid CORE Veteran Engagement Panel (VEP) 

The Pain/Opioid CORE manages a national VEP as a research resource for the VA pain/opioid research and care community. Learn more.

To learn more about the CORE VEP

Other VEPs

VA locations around the country host Veteran engagement panels for a variety of purposes, including involvement in the VA research mission. Check with your local VA research service.

The Center for Growing Rural Outreach through Veteran Engagement (GROVE) is a resource funded by the Office of Rural Health (ORH) for VA researchers who want to use engagement methodology in their projects. 

VA HSR SERVE Toolkit for Veteran Engagement

The purpose of the Health Systems Research (HSR) "Strengthening Excellence in Research through Veteran Engagement (SERVE) Toolkit" is to support VA Research Centers and investigators in efforts to include Veterans and other stakeholders in the development, implementation, and dissemination of research studies. Learn more.

VA HSR Veterans' Perspectives

This monthly VA Health Systems Research (HSR) publication highlights research conducted by VA investigators, showcasing the importance of research for Veterans - and the importance of Veterans for research. Learn more.

Pain/Opioid CORE's Veterans' Perspectives Articles

VA Funding Sources

This is a non-exhaustive list of VA-related funding sources for pain/opioid research.

Research Funding

VA Office of Research and Development (ORD) - Funding

Health Systems Research - Funding

Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) - Funding Opportunities for VA Investigators

Rehabilitation Research & Development - Guidelines for Proposal Submissions

Clinical Science Research and Development - Main Page

Pilot/Feasibility Studies

Pain/Opioid CORE Rapid Start Funding Program

Annual funding program for small research projects of up to one year that are consistent with CORE priorities and are likely to meaningfully inform future applications for funding as a VA study, (e.g., IIR, Service-Directed Research, QUERI project) or answer priority questions (secondary analysis). Preference given to early career investigators. Learn more. 

Private Sector Research Opportunities

View recently posted private sector research opportunities. Inclusion on this list does not imply endorsement by the VA Pain/Opioid CORE. Opportunities are posted on a rolling basis and removed after 90 days. 

Pain/Opioid Related Seminars

This is a non-exhaustive list of VA-related webinars related to pain/opioid research.

VA Pain Research Working Group

The Veterans Health Administration Pain Research Working Group (PRWG) was developed to support one of the key objectives of the VHA national Pain Management Strategy namely “Identifying research opportunities in pain management and facilitating collaborative research efforts.” Presently, the PRWG hosts regular webinar presentations by leading chronic pain health systems researchers.

VA Spotlight on Pain Management Cyberseminars 

The Spotlight on Pain Management (SOPM) series targets VA health services and clinical investigators, clinicians, educators, and policy makers. Its key objective is to provide a forum for discussing practice and policy implications of VA pain-relevant health systems research and for encouraging pain-relevant health systems research that is informed by high priority practice and policy initiatives in VA. 

Other Research Resources and Useful Links

This is a non-exhaustive list. Inclusion on this list does not imply endorsement by the VA Pain/Opioid CORE.

NIH-DoD-VA Pain Management Collaboratory (PMC)

The Pain Management Collaboratory is comprised of 11 large-scale, multisite, pragmatic clinical trials that focus on implementation and evaluation of nonpharmacological approaches for the management of pain and common co-occurring conditions in Military and Veterans healthcare systems.

VA HSR COnsortia of REsesarch (COREs)

The goal of the VA Health Systems Research (HSR) COREs is to accelerate research that will lead to measurable improvements in the care delivered to Veterans in each of four priority areas.

VA HSR Women's Health Research Network

The VA Women's Health Research Network (WHRN) is an ongoing initiative to systematically transform VA’s capacity to examine and reduce gender disparities in health and health care, and to use research to increase delivery of evidence-based care tailored to women Veterans’ needs.

VA Health Care

Pain Management Program Office

National Mental Health Program Office

VA Substance Use Disorder Resource Directory: 2023

(Requires a VA account to access) Directory is compiled by the VA Interprofessional Advanced Fellowship in Addiction Treatment Coordinating Center.

VA QUERI Complementary and Integrative Health Evaluation Center (CIHEC) Article Library

CIHEC maintains a library of all Veteran and complementary and integrative health peer-reviewed research articles.

Literature Alerts from the VHA National Desktop Library

Prepared by professional librarians in the VA Library Network and delivered straight to your inbox, Literature Alerts, help you stay up-to-date on the latest developments in selected fields, better equipping you to perform your work at VA and serve our nation's Veterans. Upon receipt of the alerts, subscribers will need to work with their local library staff to obtain full-text articles.

Alert topics include:

  • Opioid Epidemic (weekly)
  • Pain Management (bimonthly)
  • Other topics that intersect with pain management and the opioid epidemic:
    • Homeless Veterans (monthly)
    • Complementary and Integrative Health (monthly)
    • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (weekly)
    • Rural Health Veterans (monthly)
    • Suicide (weekly)
    • Telehealth (weekly)
    • Traumatic Brain Injury (weekly)
    • Whole Health (bimonthly)
    • Women Veterans (bimonthly)
    • Yoga and Mental Health (monthly)

VA Research Database: Dimensions for VA

Dimensions for VA is a web-based SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) tool that HSR and OIT procured to help VA researchers and their VA partners navigate the universe of published research and funded projects. It is an innovative research database that connects over 117 million publications, 6 million awarded grants, 135 million patents, 620,000 clinical trials and 580,000 policy documents

ICD-11 Pain Classification Resources

Articles, press releases, and general resources about the ICD-11 pain classification curated by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP).

 

Page last updated: October 29, 2024