2018
Racial disparities in discontinuation of long-term opioid therapy following illicit drug use among black and white patients
Gaither JR, Gordon K, Crystal S, Edelman EJ, Kerns RD, Justice AC, Fiellin DA, Becker WC. Racial disparities in discontinuation of long-term opioid therapy following illicit drug use among black and white patients. Drug And Alcohol Dependence 2018, 192: 371-376. PMID: 30122319, PMCID: PMC7106601, DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.05.033.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsLong-term opioid therapyIllicit drug useUrine drug testsDrug useOpioid therapyWhite racePositive urine drug testDrug testsMonths of treatmentElectronic medical recordsWhite patientsChronic painPatient raceMedical recordsPatientsLogistic regressionOpioidsRacial disparitiesDrug testingCocaineCannabisTherapyCliniciansDiscontinuationPain
2017
Taking ACTION to reduce pain: ACTION study rationale, design and protocol of a randomized trial of a proactive telephone-based coaching intervention for chronic musculoskeletal pain among African Americans
Bhimani RH, Cross LJ, Taylor BC, Meis LA, Fu SS, Allen KD, Krein SL, Do T, Kerns RD, Burgess DJ. Taking ACTION to reduce pain: ACTION study rationale, design and protocol of a randomized trial of a proactive telephone-based coaching intervention for chronic musculoskeletal pain among African Americans. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2017, 18: 15. PMID: 28086853, PMCID: PMC5237146, DOI: 10.1186/s12891-016-1363-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsChronic musculoskeletal painMusculoskeletal painTreatment outcomesHealth care service utilizationMorris Disability QuestionnairePain outcome measuresPain treatment outcomesTelephone counseling sessionsAfrican American patientsAfrican AmericansPrimary aimUsual careDisability QuestionnaireOpioid analgesicsPain outcomesPain treatmentPrimary outcomeChronic painPain assessmentTreat methodologyAmerican patientsClinical trialsPhysical functioningService utilizationOutcome measures
2014
Racial Differences in Prescription of Opioid Analgesics for Chronic Noncancer Pain in a National Sample of Veterans
Burgess DJ, Nelson DB, Gravely AA, Bair MJ, Kerns RD, Higgins DM, van Ryn M, Farmer M, Partin MR. Racial Differences in Prescription of Opioid Analgesics for Chronic Noncancer Pain in a National Sample of Veterans. Journal Of Pain 2014, 15: 447-455. PMID: 24440840, DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2013.12.010.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsChronic noncancer painPain intensity ratingsPrescription of opioidsNoncancer painOpioid prescriptionsRacial differencesVeterans Affairs Health Care SystemIntensity ratingsElectronic medical record dataRetrospective cohort studyPain intensity scoresPrimary care patientsMedical record dataYears of agePossible racial differencesHealth care facilitiesSignificant racial differencesSystem-level factorsHealth care systemPatients 65Cohort studyJoint painPatient ageCare patientsOpioid analgesics