Exploring barriers and facilitators to health equity: A public dialogue to advance research agendas related to opioid prescribing for pain conditions

The ongoing opioid crisis continues to inflict serious harms on thousands of British Columbians. Some harms are due to inappropriate initiation of opioid analgesics in primary care which contributes to the development of prescription opioid addiction and opioid use disorder (OUD) in up to a quarter of all individuals started on opioid analgesics.

An evidence-based opioid-sparing approach to pain management can minimize this risk. The resurging COVID-19 pandemic further exposes the existing inequities in the system of care for people with or at risk of developing prescription OUD. Access to opioid-sparing pain management in primary care should be freely accessible to all patients suffering from pain, regardless of their gender, race, or socio-economic status. The inequities that hinder their access to these therapies have not been fully understood.

This open dialogue session will focus on equity-oriented opioid-sparing pain management in primary care.

This session is part of Health After 2020. The Health After 2020 program supports researchers to engage in interdisciplinary collaborations and build a community of UBC Health scholars. Through the development of research collaborations, academic outputs, cross-campus conversations, and open dialogue sessions, the program convenes and informs people at the inflection point in our society created by the COVID-19 pandemic.