Research Spotlights

Explore the projects helping to make a difference in the opioid crisis.

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a hand turning over wooden blocks that spell out the words stigma

Stigma: Overcoming a Barrier to Pain Treatment and Addiction Recovery

HEAL challenged researchers to consider stigma when planning ways to address the opioid crisis.

Published: March 10, 2020

Topics: Stigma in Pain Management and Opioid Use Disorder

Titanium implant that releases medication treatment for opioid use disorder.

Better Ways to Deliver Medications That Treat Addiction

The NIH HEAL Initiative® is funding a project to develop a long-lasting implant to release medication for opioid use disorder to help patients stay on treatment and achieve long-term recovery.

Published: March 24, 2020

Topics: Drug Development

Traditional pain scale from 0 to 100, visualized with cartoon faces

Searching for a Way to Predict Pain

Doctors can’t predict how much pain a person will feel after surgery, making tailored treatments difficult. One NIH HEAL Initiative researcher hopes to develop a blood test to predict how sensitive people will be to pain.

Published: March 31, 2020

Topics: Pain Biomarkers

The NIH HEAL Initiative’s six research focus areas are grouped in two themes: enhancing pain management and improving treatment for opioid misuse and addiction. Learn more about the NIH HEAL Initiative’s research focus areas.

The Opioid Crisis: All Hands on Deck

The NIH HEAL Initiative® — a research effort led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) — aims to prevent opioid overdose deaths and improve how we understand and treat both pain and opioid addiction.

Published: April 6, 2020

Topics: Stigma in Pain Management and Opioid Use Disorder

An animation of an African American man in a doctor’s office. He is holding his back and his facial expression shows he is in pain.

High Tech Simulations Aim to Reduce Disparities in Pain Care

An NIH HEAL Initiative® study is using a computer simulation program with virtual patients to help real doctors understand their biases when assessing their patients’ risk of opioid misuse.

Published: April 15, 2020

Topics: Stigma in Pain Management and Opioid Use Disorder, Advancing Health Equity

A smiling woman next to the words, “First, I’ll teach you how pain is affected by — and how it affects — your actions, feelings, and thoughts.”

Prescribing a Website for Chronic Pain

Research funded by the NIH HEAL Initiative® is studying whether a web-based program can help people cope with chronic pain.

Published: April 17, 2020

Topics: Pain Management Effectiveness Research Network (ERN)

Three women stand next to each other in front of a fence at a horse farm.

Could a Telehealth Program Improve Outcomes for Justice-Involved Women?

An NIH HEAL Initiative project is studying whether a telemedicine system to connect women with treatment providers and peer support before their release from jail can help the women stay in treatment and recover from opioid use disorder once in the community.

Published: April 29, 2020

Topics: JCOIN