Weaver collaborating on newly funded grant from National Institute on Aging

Mark Weaver, assistant professor of statistics, is a co-investigator on a new R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health to test methods for reducing chronic pain and long-term opioid use among older adults with musculoskeletal pain.

Assistant Professor of Statistics Mark Weaver is a co-investigator on a research team that has recently been awarded a five-year R01 grant from the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health. Weaver is collaborating with colleagues from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The principal investigator is Dr. Timothy Platts-Mills, assistant professor and vice chair of Research at the UNC Department of Emergency Medicine.

The title of the research is "Reducing the Transition from Acute to Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Among Older Adults." The goal of this grant is to conduct a three-arm randomized trial of an emergency department-based intervention to improve early outpatient pain management in older adults. The intervention to be tested combines an educational video with telecare phone follow-up by a nurse 48-72 hours after the Emergency Department visit. Outcomes will include pain symptoms, function, analgesic side effects, and long-term opioid use.

The grant period will run until Nov. 30, 2023 (R01AG058702).