Opioids
Narcotics, or opioids, are often used to treat pain, including pain associated with work injuries. Yet, abuse of these painkillers has resulted in such a large increase in hospitalizations and deaths that the situation is called an “opioid epidemic.” IWH research looks at optimal opioid prescribing practices for physicians, as well as the use and effects of opioids related to the treatment of work-related injuries in particular.
Featured
At Work article
IWH review outlines promising strategies to prevent prescribed opioid abuse
Research synthesis by Institute for Work & Health examines programs and policies aimed at reducing the misuse and abuse of prescription opioids and preventing overdose deaths
Published: November 6, 2018
At Work article
Studies consistent in finding a link between opioids for MSDs and longer work disability
But high risk of bias across available studies limits ability to draw conclusions about cause and effect
Published: February 16, 2018
Journal article
Journal article
Identifying appropriate outcomes to help evaluate the impact of the Canadian Guideline for Safe and Effective Use of Opioids for Non-Cancer Pain
Published: BMC Anesthesiology, January 2020
Journal article
Journal article
Changes in opioid prescribing behaviors among family physicians who participated in a weekly tele-mentoring program
Published: Journal of Clinical Medicine, December 2019
Journal article
Journal article
Tracking opioid prescribing metrics in Washington state (2012-2017): differences by county-level urban-rural and economic distress classifications
Published: Journal of Rural Health, October 2019
Journal article
Journal article
Opioid overdose hospitalization trajectories in states with and without opioid-dosing guidelines
Published: Public Health Reports, September 2019
Journal article
Journal article
Testing a support programme for opioid reduction for people with chronic non-malignant pain: the I-WOTCH randomised controlled trial protocol
Published: BMJ Open, June 2019
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series
The link between workplace injury and fatality risks and the use of substances affecting the central nervous system
Prescription and recreational drugs that act on the central nervous system can have many adverse effects, including cognitive and psychomotor impairment. An IWH systematic review has looked into the link between workplace injury and fatality risks and the use of such substances—including opioids, benzodiazepines and cannabis. In this presentation, Dr. Nancy Carnide shares findings from that systematic review.
Published: May 2019
Journal article
Journal article
Relationship between early prescription dispensing patterns and work disability in a cohort of low back pain workers' compensation claimants: a historical cohort study
Published: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, May 2019
Journal article
Journal article
Identifying patient-important outcomes in medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder patients: a systematic review protocol
Published: BMJ Open, December 2018
At Work article
IWH review outlines promising strategies to prevent prescribed opioid abuse
Since the start of the opioid crisis in the late 1990s, communities across North America have tried many different strategies to curb the misuse and abuse of prescription opioids. A new IWH systematic review identifies the most promising ones.
Published: November 2018
IWH in the media
New systematic review outlines promising strategies to prevent prescribed opioid abuse, overdoses
The opioid epidemic continues to grow unabated across swaths of North America. A new systematic review by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) now provides a comprehensive assessment of the strategies that have been tried to promote the appropriate use of opioid prescriptions, reduce their misuse and abuse, and prevent overdose deaths.
Published: OOHNA Journal, October 2018