Intervention to reduce opioid stigma in cancer pain for advanced cancer patients
Official title: Development and piloting of an intervention to reduce the impact of opioid stigma in cancer pain
Funded at University of Alabama at Birmingham · NIH-11408821 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A patient-friendly plan to help people with advanced cancer manage pain better by reducing stigma around using opioid pain medicines.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Career grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Alabama at Birmingham NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Birmingham, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2025 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $145,773 |
| NIH project number | 5K08CA263317-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11408821 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with advanced cancer experiencing moderate-to-severe pain who are prescribed opioid medications.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without opioid treatment in their pain management plan or those not open to behavioral interventions may see limited benefit.
What this research studies
This project aims to develop and pilot a behavioral approach to lessen opioid stigma experienced by patients with advanced cancer. It will build on an existing Opioid Stigma Framework and test how a stigma-reduction intervention affects communication with clinicians, health behaviors, and emotional well-being. The study will be conducted with patients and mentors as collaborators to tailor the approach to real-world cancer care settings.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients may experience better pain control, less distress related to opioid use, and improved quality of life.
How similar studies have gone: prior work shows stigma can affect treatment engagement; this project tests a new targeted intervention for cancer pain.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bulls, Hailey Waddell — University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Study coordinator: Bulls, Hailey Waddell
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Cancer Pain Management for Asian American Breast Cancer Survivors with Depressive Symptoms
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-
Endosomal signaling and cancer pain control in oral cancer
A study to understand how signals inside nerve cells and supportive cells contribute to pain in people with oral cancer.
-
Safe, digitally-enabled cancer pain care for patients and survivors
A nationwide Mayo Clinic-led program tests a digitally-supported, team-based approach to managing cancer pain that may help patients and survivors receive better, safer pain care.
-
Truncated TrkB and Oral Cancer Pain in Head and Neck Cancer
This project looks at a specific brain receptor told to influence pain in people with oral cancer to find new ways to reduce pain without heavy opioids.
-
Understanding how mouth cancer proteases drive pain in patients
This NIH grant looks at how enzymes in oral cancer tumors may cause pain, aiming to connect specific proteases with how patients feel pain.
-
Blocking HB-EGF and trigeminal EGFR to reduce oral cancer pain and opioid tolerance
Blocking HB-EGF and EGFR signals in trigeminal nerve cells to try to reduce severe mouth cancer pain and slow opioid tolerance for people with oral cancer.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.