SynthesisMedicine2026
Behaviour change interventions to reduce opioids in chronic non-cancer pain in primary care: A systematic review and mapping of behavior change techniques.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite limited efficacy, patients are prescribed opioids for chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP). Guidelines recommend supporting the safe tapering of opioid prescriptions for these patients. This usually occurs in primary care, so there is a need to ascertain the efficacy of interventions implemented in this setting. This review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to reduce opioids in CNCP patients in primary care and identify effective behavior change techniques (BCTs).
methodsA comprehensive search was conducted in Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature and Web of Science databases in May 2023 using the MESH terms: "Chronic pain," "opioid," "primary care," and "psychosocial interventions." Manual searches were conducted in 7 systematic reviews. Psychosocial intervention trials with a control group were eligible for the review. Studies were excluded if opioid dosages were not reported.
resultsThirteen studies were included - 7 randomized controlled trials and 6 cohort studies with a total of 3130 patients. Upon quality assessment, one study was deemed strong, two were moderate, and ten were of weak quality. Eight interventions demonstrated success in opioid tapering in primary care settings. A broad spectrum of intervention techniques were identified, with Behaviour Substitution consistently applied in the effective interventions.
conclusionWe determined the effective BCTs used across these trials to guide design and implementation of future interventions. This is the first review to identify BCTs that may contribute to supporting patients in tapering opioids in CNCP in primary care settings. Limitations include high heterogeneity in study designs and in the reporting of techniques used.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.