Chronic Pain

In early 2018, NIDILRR issued a request for information about people with disabilities and opioid use disorder. NIDILRR received comments from 50 respondents, including consumers, community and national organizations, research teams, and federal partners. Overall, the responses to this RFI revealed a need to further explore the intersection of chronic pain, opioid misuse, and people with disabilities.

Older adults are affected by the opioid public health emergency because they often use prescription opioids to cope with painful chronic conditions or procedures. This issue briefing provides a summary about the problem, treatments, federal strategies to address the crisis, and funding and programs that are addressing this issue. The briefing also highlights innovative programs to address the opioid public health emergency in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and New Hampshire.