The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Helping to End Addiction Long-term® Initiative, or NIH HEAL Initiative®, is an NIH-wide effort that seeks to speed scientific solutions to the overdose epidemic, including opioid and stimulant use disorders, and the crisis of chronic pain. NIH HEAL Initiative research aims to reduce pain and the risk of opioid use disorder by developing safe and effective pain treatment and prevention strategies to improve quality of life for all people. There are now more new cases of chronic pain among U.S. adults than other long-term conditions like diabetes, depression, and high blood pressure. Lack of safe and effective treatments to manage pain is an urgent public health problem. New treatments that can safely and effectively manage pain are needed now.
To date, the NIH HEAL Initiative has supported over 1,800 research projects in all 50 states, totaling over $3 billion of investment. Now in its sixth year of funding, NIH is building upon the progress HEAL has made to date by developing a strategic plan to guide the next phase of the initiative.
To inform this process, a Working Group of the NINDS Advisory Council is developing recommendations for strategic research priorities that will advance the mission of HEAL pain research. As part of this process, seven subcommittees have formed around different focus areas of HEAL pain research. Each subcommittee is hosting virtual workshops to feature expert presentations and discussion in an open forum that will advance the understanding and knowledge within each focus area and will help each subcommittee develop research priorities. These workshops will complement other methods to get input from the community, such as through the prior Request for Information.
For more information about this event and other workshops in the Heal Pain Research series, please visit the Developing HEAL Pain Strategic Research Priorities event webpage.
*Agendas forthcoming and will be added two weeks prior to each workshop.