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Using the Nursing and Health Sciences Research Guide, I was able to find Translational Research: Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine. After looking through some of their issues, I came across an article discussing treatment options for chronic pain outside of opioids (O’Brien & Roman, 2021). This is a notable public health problem as the opioid epidemic has grown considerably over the last few years and has created medical, social, and economic burderns (O’Brien & Roman, 2021). The authors discussed alternative medications that can be used to treat chronic pain that are focused on different signaling pathways that are being further researched (O’Brien & Roman, 2021). Some options mentioned in-depth included NSAIDS, anticonvulsants, and antidepressants (O’Brien & Roman, 2021). The study utilized comparative effectiveness research (CER) to present the information (Titler, 2018). “CER is the generation and synthesis of evidence that compares the benefits and harms of alternative methods to prevent, diagnose, treat, and monitor a clinical condition, or to improve the delivery of care” (Titler, 2018). The aim of CER is to assist clinicians, policy makers, and consumers in making informed decisions that will benefit and improve healthcare at both the population and individual level (Titler, 2018). CER involves the direct comparison of two or more interventions in patients who are typically seen in clinical care (Titler, 2018). This is the best option for this study because the aim was to improve the delivery of care to chronic pain patients by comparing alternative treatments to opioids. By reducing the amount of opioids prescribed, while still providing appropriate analgesia, communities and populations will benefit by reducing and controlling the current opioid epidemic.
O’Brien, J., Roman, D. (2021) Novel treatments for chronic pain: Moving beyond opioids. Translational Research, 234, 1-19. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.trsl.2021.03.008
Titler, M. (2018). Translational research in practice: An introduction. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(2). DOI: https://www-doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol23No02Man01
