Hello Allyson, tell us about yourself!
I am Allyson Varley. I work with the CSI:OPIOIDs study as co-investigator, qualitative interviewer and analyst.
What is your professional background or personal connection to this work. Why are you interested in this study?
I joined Dr. Kertesz’s lab to work on this study, specifically. I have always had an interest in chronic pain and opioid prescribing with a focus on implementation science. This was a unique way to study de-implementation or deprescribing of opioids from the patient perspective.
What has been the most interesting/surprising/meaningful thing about doing this work, so far?
Conducting psychological autopsy interviews is both challenging and rewarding. Many interviewees have their own lived experience with pain and share related insights with us. I have learned so much from our participants and am super grateful for their willingness to share their stories and the stories of their loved ones they lost.
What do you think people in our society might need to learn at this time about pain and its care?
One size does not fit all. For treatments, guidelines, implementation strategies, etc. Pain is a very complex health issue, and systems-level interventions must take this into consideration.
