SynthesisBMJ open2020
Experiences of people taking opioid medication for chronic non-malignant pain: a qualitative evidence synthesis using meta-ethnography.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 42 citations in OpenAlex.
- Functional contribution of the intestinal microbiome in autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Rett syndrome: a systematic review of pediatric and adult studies.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Pooled it
- Trial
- Barriers and motivators for opioid deprescribing among Danish adults receiving long-term treatment with short-acting opioids: an exploratory qualitative study in primary care informed by self-determination theory.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Perceived Prescription Opioid and Medical Cannabis-Related Stigma Among US Adults With and Physicians Who Treat Chronic Pain.Drug and alcohol review · 2026Article
- Resilience of health systems in Africa to infectious disease shocks: A qualitative evidence synthesis.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Purposeful Shared Decision-Making in Caring for and with Patients with Chronic Pain Receiving Opioid Therapy.Journal of general internal medicine · 2025Article
- Patient counselling on opioids by pharmacy technicians: A mixed-method study to explore facilitators and barriers.PEC innovation · 2025Article
- Reconfiguring Pain Interpretation Within a Social Model of Health Using a Simplified Version of Wilber's All Quadrant All Levels Framework: An Integral Vision.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Resentful, Resigned and Respectful: Opioid Analgesics, Pain and Control, a Qualitative Study.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Pharmacological pain management in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a narrative literature review.BMC medicine · 2025Review
- Perceptions and experiences of pain management and opioid use among orthopaedic patients and health professionals: Insights from a qualitative study in a metropolitan tertiary hospital.SAGE open medicine · 2025Article
- A pragmatic approach to selecting a grading system for clinical practice recommendations in palliative care.Palliative medicine · 2025Review
- Designing a primary care pharmacist-led review for people treated with opioids for persistent pain: a multi-method qualitative study.BJGP open · 2024Article
- Patients' perspectives about the role of primary healthcare providers in long-term opioid therapy: a qualitative study in Dutch primary care.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2024Article
- Whole-Body Photobiomodulation Therapy Propels the Fibromyalgia Patient into the Recomposition Phase: A Reflexive Thematic Analysis.Biomedicines · 2024Article
- Treatments perceived to be helpful for neuropathic pain after traumatic spinal cord injury: A multicenter cross-sectional survey study.The journal of spinal cord medicine · 2024Article
- Do FIQR Severity Categories and Symptoms, Differentiate Between Continuous, Intermittent and Non-Opioid Users in the Treatment of Fibromyalgia?Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses · 2024Observational
- Individualized Management of Quality of Care in Orthopedic Nurses Based on Sensitive Indicators.Computational and mathematical methods in medicine · 2023Article
- [Critical discussion of new data regarding prevalence of opioid use disorder in patients with chronic pain in Germany].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2022Review
- Patient Perspectives on Opioid Risk Discussions in Primary Care.Journal of patient-centered research and reviews · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo review qualitative studies on the experience of taking opioid medication for chronic non-malignant pain (CNMP) or coming off them.
designThis is a qualitative evidence synthesis using a seven-step approach from the methods of meta-ethnography. DATA SOURCES AND ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: We searched selected databases-Medline, Embase, AMED, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Scopus (Science Citation Index and Social Science Citation Index)-for qualitative studies which provide patients' views of taking opioid medication for CNMP or of coming off them (June 2017, updated September 2018). DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Papers were quality appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool, and the GRADE-CERQual (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation working group - Confidence in Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research) guidelines were applied. We identified concepts and iteratively abstracted these concepts into a line of argument.
resultsWe screened 2994 unique citations and checked 153 full texts, and 31 met our review criteria. We identified five themes: (1) reluctant users with little choice; (2) understanding opioids: the good and the bad; (3) a therapeutic alliance: not always on the same page; (4) stigma: feeling scared and secretive but needing support; and (5) the challenge of tapering or withdrawal. A new overarching theme of 'constantly balancing' emerged from the data.
conclusionsPeople taking opioids were constantly balancing tensions, not always wanting to take opioids, and weighing the pros and cons of opioids but feeling they had no choice because of the pain. They frequently felt stigmatised, were not always 'on the same page' as their healthcare professional and felt changes in opioid use were often challenging. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: 49470934; Pre-results.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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 OpenQuestion graph.