Chronic pain from a variety of health conditions is very common; for many people suffering disabling conditions, opioid analgesics are a necessary treatment since this class of drugs is among the most powerful treatments for most forms of pain. However, long-term opioid treatment, particularly in the setting of chronic pain, can produce negative health consequences such as opioid tolerance, dependence, withdrawal, and intoxication. This has created a difficult situation for health care providers who are considering using opioids to treat their patients for pain. Furthermore, restrictions placed upon physicians to adequately treat legitimate pain have led some patients to seek pain medications from alternate sources, such as Internet pharmacies. This proposal intends to determine the characteristics of individuals who purchase opioid analgesics from Internet pharmacies to treat chronic pain, as well as to compare differences in opioid knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices among patients with chronic pain. Furthermore, this study will determine the feasibility of conducting a longitudinal study in a population who purchase opioid analgesics from Internet pharmacies. Data from this cross-sectional study will inform treatment efforts directed toward patients with chronic pain. This study also furthers the important goals of the NIH Roadmap by creating new organizational models for behavioral science, arranging online partnerships of research between academic investigators and an organized community of chronic pain patients who congregate only in cyberspace.
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