# Reframing Optimal Management of Pain and Opioids in Older Adults

> **NIH AHRQ R18** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2020 · $672,519

## Abstract

Project Summary.
The prevalence of self-reported pain among older adults has increased 2-3 percent annually
in recent decades. Safely prescribing opioids or alternatives for geriatric pain requires
consideration of polypharmacy, cognitive and physical function, caregivers, social supportive
services, and end-of-life preferences. Practice improvement efforts have rarely been directed
at primary care (PC) practices with a large proportion of geriatric patients, so most older
adults do not receive a proper risk assessment, including for opioid use disorder (OUD). The
proposed project, Managing Pain Safely in Older Adults, is a partnership between the
University of Michigan (UM) and Altarum, bringing extensive expertise in implementing pain
management practice improvements through multi-faceted approaches using evidence-
based prescriber education, academic detailing, ongoing feedback, practice management
and prescriber support, as well as leveraging electronic health record (EHR) technology. The
UM and Altarum are in the third year of a partnership leading a Health and Human Services,
Office of Minority Health-funded program to prevent and reduce opioid-related morbidity and
mortality (Detroit Opioid Prevention Collaborative), using intervention strategies like those we
propose for this project. Our Managing Pain Safely in Older Adults project combines
Altarum’s expertise in engaging hundreds of PC practices in quality improvement and
provider and patient education programs, along with their nationally recognized expertise in
eldercare, with UM’s expertise implementing evidence-based pain management and
prevention and treatment of OUD—specifically screening, opioid tapers, and provision of
medication assisted treatment (MAT). In alignment with AHRQ’s mission, we aspire to
implement, study, and disseminate methods by which to provide safer and more equitable
pain management care to older adults.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10111756
- **Project number:** 1R18HS027902-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Daniel William Berland
- **Activity code:** R18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AHRQ
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $672,519
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10111756

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10111756, Reframing Optimal Management of Pain and Opioids in Older Adults (1R18HS027902-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10111756. Licensed CC0.

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