# Psychosocial pain management to improve opioid use disorder treatment outcomes

> **NIH NIH R33** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2020 · $758,316

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
 Developing new strategies to address pain in patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) is critical to
improving outcomes for the large population of patients with comorbid chronic pain and OUD. With the national
opioid epidemic, which has been propelled by overuse of opioids for pain, efforts are underway to increase
access to medication assisted treatment (MAT), especially with the medication buprenorphine. However, many
individuals who receive MAT leave treatment early and continue to struggle with opioid use, often within the
context of poorly-managed comorbid chronic pain. New strategies to help patients cope with and adapt to
chronic pain are urgently needed. Psychosocial interventions for pain have been effective in patients with
chronic pain and substance use disorders, but these interventions have not been examined in the OUD
population receiving MAT. Our team received a SAMHSA State Targeted Response to Opioid Crisis grant to
help providers increase delivery of MAT in Southeast Michigan. Providing alternative pain treatment options
has the potential to be an important component delivering effective MAT.
 The purpose of this study is to refine and adapt a psychosocial pain management intervention (PPMI) to be
delivered by telephone for patients with OUD receiving MAT and then to conduct a randomized controlled trial
of the intervention in patients receiving MAT to improve OUD adherence and pain- and substance-related
outcomes. The intervention uses elements of cognitive behavioral pain management interventions adapted
specifically for patients with OUD receiving MAT. This new intervention will be compared to an enhanced usual
care condition (EUC). The study will recruit 100 patients with OUD and comorbid pain receiving MAT in clinics
in southeast Michigan. The specific aims are:
 R21 Specific Aim 1: Using qualitative patient interviews, adapt a telephone-based PPMI and enhanced
usual care (EUC) condition to address the needs of individuals with pain and OUD receiving MAT.
 R21 Specific Aim 2: Iteratively refine the PPMI and EUC informed (1) by beta-testing with patients with
OUD and chronic pain and (2) by expert opinion.
 R33 Specific Aim 1: Conduct a pilot RCT comparing a telephone-based PPMI approach (n=50) to EUC
(n=50) to assess the impact of randomization to PPMI on retention to MAT (primary outcome).
 R33 Specific Aim 2: Determine the impact of the PPMI on pain level, pain-related functioning, and
frequency of opioid use (secondary outcomes).
 Knowledge generated in this study will have important implications for improving outcomes for patients with
OUD and chronic pain through increased understanding of effective patient-focused psychosocial strategies to
help patients better manage pain. Ultimately, this line of research has the potential to lead to reductions in
morbidity and mortality among the large number of patients suffering from OUD and chronic pain.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10020320
- **Project number:** 5R33AT010106-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** MARK A. ILGEN
- **Activity code:** R33 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $758,316
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-20 → 2022-09-19

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10020320

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10020320, Psychosocial pain management to improve opioid use disorder treatment outcomes (5R33AT010106-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10020320. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*