Equity Reporting in Systematic Reviews of Opioid Treatment of Chronic Non-Cancer Pain with Patient-Reported Outcomes

Abstract

Chronic non-cancer pain can affect a patient’s social life, ability to work, and overall quality of life (QoL). Opioid therapy is often prescribed as therapeutic treatment in chronic pain. Systematic reviews (SRs)—the pinnacle of research quality—are often used in guideline development; however, pain may differ across cultures and communities. Thus, examination of equity reporting in such SR is necessary. This study examines reporting using the PROGRESS (Place of resident, Race, Occupation, Gender, Religion, Education, Socioeconomic status, Social capital)-Plus framework to examine equity within SRs with patient reported outcomes of chronic, non-cancer pain. A systematic search for SRs was conducted, which were evaluated for PROGRESS-Plus items and study characteristics were extracted. Among the 46 included SRs, seven did not include any PROGRESS-Plus items. The most commonly reported items were age, included within 34 SRs, followed by gender (30/46), and duration of pain (14/46). All other items were reported in five or less studies. Our investigation revealed a deficiency in SR’s reporting of equity measures for opioid treatment of chronic non-cancer pain. Given the need to address healthcare disparities among minorities, implementing the PROGRESS-Plus framework may influence QoL and patient-centered care.

Keywords:

• Opioids
• demographics
• patient-reported outcomes
• health disparities

Authors’ contributions

Elizabeth Landers: data extraction, manuscript preparation, journal submission; Kelsi Batioja: initial study screening, manuscript preparation; Tiffany Nguyen: initial study screening, manuscript preparation; Mackenzee Hester: data extraction; Jabraan Pasha: manuscript advisement, leadership; Will Roberts: manuscript preparation, manuscript advisement, leadership; Micah Hartwell: study Vdesign, protocol development, statistical analysis and interpretation, manuscript advisement, final approval of manuscript, leadership.

Declaration of interest

The author reports no conflict of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Funding

Dr. Hartwell reports receiving funding from the National Institute for Justice for work unrelated to the current subject. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency.