The Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation Survey of Long-Term Prescription Painkiller Users and Their Household Members
Executive Summary
A time period of two months or more was selected to focus on those whose use may be at odds with current government guidelines around prescription painkiller use.
Introduction
Frieden, T. and Houry, D. “Reducing the Risks of Relief – The CDC Opioid-Prescribing Guideline,” The New England Journal of Medicine, April, 2016, http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1515917.
Dowell, D., Haegerich, T., and Chou, R. “CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain- United States, 2016,” JAMA, April, 2016, available at http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2503508.
Section 1: Views and Experiences of Long-Term Users of Prescription Painkillers
Kaiser Family Foundation, Kaiser Health Tracking Poll, August 2016, https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/poll-finding/kaiser-health-tracking-poll-august-2016/
Kaiser Family Foundation, Kaiser Health Tracking Poll, November 2016, https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/poll-finding/kaiser-health-tracking-poll-november-2016/
Kaiser Family Foundation, Kaiser Health Tracking Poll, November 2016, https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/poll-finding/kaiser-health-tracking-poll-november-2016/
Section 2: A Focus on Those Reporting They Are Physically Dependent or Addicted
We use a combined measure of those who say they are or were addicted OR physically dependent on prescription painkillers. We chose to use this combined measure given people’s potential for misunderstanding ‘dependence’ or their potential unwillingness to say they’re addicted due to social desirability reasons. The 34 percent who say they are addicted or dependent is comprised of 21 percent who say they are both addicted and dependent, 11 percent who say they’re only dependent, and 2 percent who say they’re only addicted. Overall, responses are similar for those saying they’re addicted and those saying they’re dependent.
Methodology
A time period of two months or more was selected to focus on those whose use may be at odds with current government guidelines around prescription painkiller use.