# A Tailored Behavioral Intervention To Increase Engagement in Opioid Tapering in Primary Care Settings

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2020 · $193,617

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ ABSTRACT
!
 Chronic non-cancer pain is one of the most common diagnoses in primary care. Despite questionable
benefits, there are now ~10 million users of long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain. National guidelines
recommend tapering opioids when risks outweigh benefits. However, current interventions only engage a
minority of the population that may benefit from tapering opioids. In addition, few of these interventions are
based in primary care settings where the vast majority of opioids are prescribed. Thus, there is a critical need
for effective tailored behavioral interventions to enhance patients' willingness to taper in primary care settings
among those at high risk for opioid misuse. I hypothesize that by innovatively combining motivational
interviewing and shared decision making approaches, behavioral interventions can prime patients to engage in
tapering discussions by addressing their motivations for continued opioid use and identifying preferred options
for tapering. By designing patient-centered interventions tailored to patients' beliefs, motivations, and
preferences, we may be more effective at tapering patients' opioid doses in a way that mitigates potential
unintended harms of reduced opioid prescribing.
 This proposal consists of three research aims. The first aim includes developing an easily actionable
web-based survey to understand and elicit the full spectrum of reasons patients continue to use opioids; and
assess what patients understand and prefer among available treatments (e.g. buprenorphine assisted, non-
pharmacologic modalities such as cognitive behavioral therapy or yoga) to support safe opioid dose reduction.
The second aim focuses on developing an e-health behavioral intervention using a web-platform utilizing
findings from the survey in aim 1 to design and deliver tailored feedback to patients and primary care
physicians prior to a primary care clinic visit to optimize communication around opioid tapering during regular
primary care visits. Aim 3 is a pilot trial to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. This
Mentored Patient-Oriented Career Development Award will provide the candidate with the in-depth training
necessary to develop tailored patient-centered behavioral interventions to engage patients in cessation efforts
for commonly abused prescription medications. The career development plan outlined in this proposal has
three primary components: (1) training in measurement of beliefs, values, and preferences, (2) training in
behavioral intervention development, and (3) training in mixed-methods evaluations. This proposal is
supported by a highly experienced multidisciplinary mentorship team.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9952333
- **Project number:** 5K23DA047475-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Pooja Lagisetty
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $193,617
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9952333

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9952333, A Tailored Behavioral Intervention To Increase Engagement in Opioid Tapering in Primary Care Settings (5K23DA047475-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9952333. Licensed CC0.

---

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