IMPOWR-YOU Research Center

Many patients with opioid use disorder or opioid misuse experience chronic pain. Despite this, little research has focused specifically on the overlap between these conditions. The Integrative Management of Chronic Pain and Opioid Use Disorder for Whole Recovery-Yale Organizations United (IMPOWR-YOU) Research Center was funded as part of the NIH Helping End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative.

The grant supports the establishment of a research center at Yale to advance integrated treatments for chronic pain and opioid use disorder or opioid misuse. IMPOWR-YOU is one of four such centers in the United States and part of a Integrative Management of chronic Pain and OUD for Whole Recovery (IMPOWR) network.

Drs. William Becker, Declan Barry, and David Fiellin are the Principal Investigators (PIs). The Center is overseen by a Steering Committee comprising the PIs and several other researchers, including Drs. Anne Black, Sarwat Chaudhry, Theddeus Iheanacho, Robert Kerns, Ryan McNeil, Rajita Sinha, and Melissa Weimer.

IMPOWR-YOU cores and working groups work to engage key institutional and community partners, persons with lived experiences of pain and/or opioid misuse/use disorder, address diversity and career development, and support pilot projects.

IMPOWR-YOU is conducting two large studies alongside planned pilot projects and other Center activities:

• Pain CHAMP, led by by Dr. Becker, will compare the effectiveness of a pharmacist-led collaborative care model for patients prescribed long-term opioids who have opioid use disorder or opioid misuse and chronic pain versus the pharmacist program plus patient referral to a phone-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy-based pain self-management program.
• SC-POWR, led by Dr. Barry, will be situated within an opioid treatment program and compare, among patients receiving methadone or buprenorphine, the effectiveness of stepped care multimodal interdisciplinary chronic pain management including CBT, exercise and stress management.

Other Yale researchers involved with the IMPOWR-YOU Research Center include Drs. Adam Ackerman, MD, Mark Beitel, Christopher Cutter, James Dziura, Sara Edmond, Denise Esserman, Kirsha Gordon, Alexandra Hadjuk, Alicia Heapy, Brent Moore, and Yusuf Ransome, MPH, DrPH.