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Title: Quantifying Chronic Pain: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Chronic Pain Sufferers’ Public and Private Discourse
Award ID(s):
1849653
PAR ID:
10193594
Author(s) / Creator(s):
Date Published:
Journal Name:
The Journal of Pain
Volume:
20
Issue:
4
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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  1. Abstract BackgroundRoughly a quarter of the US population suffers from moderate to severe chronic pain for at least six months in any given year. The complexity of managing chronic pain has encouraged providers to use innovative methods to address it. Research has shown that problem lists are potential tools that support the care of patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease. ObjectivesTo examine the extent to which the inclusion of chronic pain in a problem list is associated with follow-up specialty pain care. MethodsThe association between chronic pain documentation on the problem list and specialty pain care was investigated in this retrospective cohort study using 4531 patient records. ResultsChronic pain documentation in the problem list was associated with higher odds of receiving specialty pain care. The most common diagnosis was chronic pain (69.7%). A migraine diagnosis was associated with decreased odds of receiving specialty care, and chronic pain syndrome was associated with increased odds of receiving specialty care compared with the other chronic pain groups. ConclusionDocumenting chronic pain on the problem list was associated with a higher likelihood of patients receiving specialty pain care. 
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