The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) intends to publish a Request for Applications (RFA) to improve the management of opioids and opioid use disorder in older adults. AHRQ’s research has shown that hospitalizations and emergency department visits related to opioids are rapidly increasing among older adults.
It is known that older adults may be uniquely at risk to adverse outcomes due to polypharmacy, comorbidities, other age-related conditions and social stigma and expectations. However, there is relatively little guidance to help clinicians and health systems optimize outcomes related to pain, function and substance use in this population.
Applicants will be expected to develop a comprehensive model that uses evidence-based interventions and quality improvement strategies designed to improve the management of pain, opioid use and opioid use disorder for older adults in primary care, in the context of person-centered management that acknowledges co-existing illnesses as well as social factors.
The model should integrate the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) guideline recommendations (e.g., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health), findings from other relevant AHRQ projects related to opioids and pain management, and use evidence-based approaches where possible. AHRQ is particularly interested in approaches based in primary care that include Learning Health System models, shared decision-making, safe prescribing and risk mitigation practices, multimodal therapy for patients, and which leverage existing health information technology or electronic health record systems, and which consider how to adapt to meet the needs of specific populations of older adults.
This Notice encourages investigators with appropriate expertise and insights to begin to consider applying for this RFA.
