Whole Health pain-management teams to improve veterans' function and opioid safety
Official title: Pain management teams using Whole Health to optimize function and safety in veterans: The TEAMWORK trial
Funded at VA Connecticut Healthcare System · NIH-11190844 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will offer team-based Whole Health care to veterans with chronic pain to help them function better and make opioid use safer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | VA Connecticut Healthcare System NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (West Haven, United States) |
| Project start | October 1, 2024 |
| Project end | September 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5UG3HX003997-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11190844 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are veterans with high-impact chronic pain, especially those who are using opioids or are at risk for opioid-related harms.
✕Less likely to help
People without chronic pain, non-veterans, or individuals who do not receive care at participating VA facilities are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
You would get care from an interdisciplinary pain management team that combines pain medicine, addiction medicine, behavioral health, and rehabilitation under Whole Health principles. The teams provide multimodal pain treatments and options to reduce opioid-related harms, including offering buprenorphine for opioid dependence when appropriate. The project focuses on building, supporting, and spreading these teams across VA medical centers using implementation methods. The goal is to improve day-to-day functioning and reduce unsafe opioid use among veterans with high-impact chronic pain.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could improve pain-related function and reduce opioid-related harms for veterans.
How similar studies have gone: Interdisciplinary pain teams and Whole Health approaches have shown promise but specific pain management team models remain limited, and the study team previously implemented a similar model at a small number of VA sites.
Where this research is happening
-
VA Connecticut Healthcare System
West Haven, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Edmond, Sara — VA Connecticut Healthcare System
- Study coordinator: Edmond, Sara
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Cancer Pain Management for Asian American Breast Cancer Survivors with Depressive Symptoms
A technology-based program helps Asian American breast cancer survivors with depressive symptoms manage chronic pain more effectively from home using a web app and mobile tools.
-
Building Indigenous Research Infrastructure for Substance Misuse and Pain Management
A planned two-year effort helps the Lumbee Tribe build a community-led research infrastructure to better understand and address substance misuse and pain in their community.
-
Coordinated pain care using technology in community clinics
A large, real-world study will test a coordinated, multi-component pain care plan in community health centers to help people with chronic musculoskeletal pain get non-opioid and holistic treatments.
-
Cold-triggered numbing for on-demand pain relief
An injectable that stays inactive until the area is cooled, releasing a tiny amount of a powerful numbing drug to give on-demand local pain relief.
-
Tailored opioid tapering and pain support after spine surgery for patients using opioids long-term
A Stanford-backed plan helps people who already take opioids before spine surgery to taper safely after surgery and get non-opioid pain relief.
-
Gut microbiome targets to ease sickle cell pain in patients
Researchers are studying how gut microbes affect chronic pain in people with sickle cell disease and how penicillin prophylaxis in babies might change pain pathways.
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.