Chronic Pain Management in an Aging Population
Current Challenges and Policy-Based Solutions
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22124657 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lisa R LaRowe (0000-0003-1137-2849, Harvard University, corresponding author), Seema M Patidar (0000-0002-7243-177X, VA Maryland Health Care System), Amy Goetzinger (Department of Anesthesiology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, USA), Skye Ochsner Margolies, Skye Margolies (Department of Anesthesiology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, USA), RYAN A MACE (0000-0001-5738-8606, Harvard University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 102-109 |
| Publication date | 2025-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2372-7322 • E-ISSN: 2372-7330 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/23727322241307916 |
| OpenAlex | W4405822700 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 53 |
Chronic pain in older adults is highly prevalent and often more complex to manage. Despite some recent successes in improving chronic pain management in this population, critical challenges and policy barriers remain: (1) healthcare professionals do not have enough training, education or experience; (2) treatments are too focused on biological causes of pain; (3) opioid regulations have had unintended consequences; (4) there are barriers to nonopioid and non-drug chronic pain treatments; and (5) age-related stigma and discrimination make it more difficult to detect and treat chronic pain. To more effectively assess and manage chronic pain in older adults, a comprehensive, bipartisan approach must include: (1) teaching healthcare professionals about chronic pain in older adults; (2) assessing and addressing chronic pain through a biopsychosocial lens, (3) improving implementation of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for opioid use, (4) increasing access to nonopioid and non-drug chronic pain treatments, and (5) strengthening programs to reduce ageism
Biopsychosocial model · Chronic pain · Health care · Opioid · Pain management · Physical therapy · Population · Population ageing · Psychiatry · Unintended consequences · Medicine · Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation · Opioid Use Disorder Treatment · Pain Management and Opioid Use
The Economic Costs of Pain in the United States
CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain — United States, 2022
Ageism Harms Older People's Health, Cognition, and Well-Being
Interventions to Reduce Ageism Against Older Adults
Age‐friendly Universities (AFU)
Societal impact on older persons' chronic pain
Toward interventions to reduce internalized ageism
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |