This Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) calls for research on stigma in the context of chronic pain management and opioid use or opioid use disorder (OUD). As part of NIH’s Helping to End Addiction Long Term (HEAL) Initiative, NIH will support supplements to current HEAL awards to address the challenges for people affected by the opioid crisis from stigma, discrimination and prejudice related to chronic pain management in the context of opioid use and/or opioid use disorder and its treatment. This NOSI calls for applications that integrate and incorporate stigma research into ongoing HEAL funded chronic pain and OUD studies in order to address stigma that is occurring in the context of chronic pain and/or OUD. Because stigma research may require large clinical or community networks, the supplement program is designed to leverage the many networks already being developed through HEAL awards. This supplement program is not intended to support research on basic processes (e.g. cultural attitudes) but rather to result in strategies to enable rapid implementation of changes.
A total of up to $3.5 million is available to supplement existing HEAL grants and cooperative agreements, for up to 1 year, to evaluate strategies to reduce stigma and improve treatment, management and services for people with chronic pain and/or OUD. Supplement requests do not need to address all possible aspects of stigma in the context of chronic pain and /or OUD, but it is encouraged when appropriate to consider piloting multi-layer, multicomponent interventions to address stigma in these contexts.