Have You Lost Someone with Chronic Pain?
Help Us Prevent Suicide After Reductions in Pain Medication
Have You Lost Someone with Chronic Pain?
Help Us Prevent Suicide After Reductions in Pain Medication
Join Our Study and Improve Outcomes for People with Long-Term Pain
The University of Alabama at Birmingham is seeking participants for a study on mental health vulnerabilities during pain medication transitions. If you believe your loved one’s death took place after a reduction or stoppage of prescription-strength pain medications, consider joining our study. Coming forward to share your loved one’s experience may help save others in similar situations. Together, we can be a force for positive, systematic change in the healthcare system and protect vulnerable populations.
Get Involved
Our Goals: What Your Study Participation Will Do
By joining our study, you’ll help other families, healthcare professionals, and policymakers better understand when a person is at risk of self-harm after changes in access to pain medication. By sharing your loved one’s story, you can be a part of identifying improvements and interventions at both a clinical and national level to prevent future loss of life.
Create a Registry
We will create a registry of individuals who lost their lives to suicide after reductions or stoppages in pain medication.
Perform Interviews
We will speak to family members and partners of these individuals to understand their stories and experiences with long-term pain.
Identify Risk Factors
By analyzing interviews and medical records, we will identify risk factors during opioid transitions and ways to intervene before individuals in similar circumstances are lost.
To learn more about this project and the study team, click the link below
Frequently Asked Questions About the Study
What is the Purpose of this Study?
Our goal is to better understand the demographic, societal, and clinical factors that play a role in the loss of life after a person’s pain medication is reduced or stopped altogether. In doing so, we will have a clearer idea of how and why suicides occur, which will allow us to identify effective preventive measures for at-risk individuals.
Who Can Participate in the Study?
We are seeking individuals who believe that the death of someone close to them occurred after a change in pain medication. Participants must be 19 or older, and both they and the person they lost must be residents of the United States.
What Should I Expect During My Participation?
After an initial online screening survey and informed consent process, you will participate in an in-depth interview with a member of our research team about your loved one and the circumstances surrounding their passing. Where possible, we will then work with you to obtain your loved one’s medical records.
Who is Conducting this Study?
Our research team is led by Dr. Stefan Kertesz of the UAB Department of Medicine and Birmingham VA Health Care System, with support from the UAB Heersink School of Medicine and the Veterans Health Administration Health Services Research & Development program. Learn more about our team and our study here.
Be a Part of the Solution for People with Long-Term Pain
We understand that speaking about a person that you’ve lost in this way can be very challenging. We thank you for your interest in helping us investigate this crucial issue so that we may discover real solutions for others in vulnerable positions.
Be a Part of the Solution for People with Long-Term Pain
We understand that speaking about a person that you’ve lost in this way can be very challenging. We thank you for your interest in helping UAB investigate this crucial issue so that we may discover real solutions for others in vulnerable positions.
