Nonopioid Treatments for Chronic Pain-Integrating Multimodal Biopsychosocial Approaches to Pain Management.

Stephanie Eucker, MD, PhD, FACEP is an Assistant Professor and Assistant Director of Acute Care Research in the Duke University Department of Emergency Medicine. Her primary research interest is in preventing and treating chronic pain, disability, and opioid use disorder (OUD) by incorporating innovative multimodal and nonpharmacologic pain management strategies in the Emergency Department (ED). Her broad clinical and research training includes Emergency Medicine, Bioengineering, Clinical and Translational research. Her research comprises three main synergistic areas of focus: (1) innovative nonpharmacologic ED pain care models, (2) patient-centered, personalized medicine approaches to pain care selection, and (3) transforming ED care best practices. 

In the nonpharmacologic realm, Dr. Eucker is PI of a SAMHSA-funded pragmatic randomized clinical trial of acupuncture to treat acute musculoskeletal pain in the ED, to which her team has successfully recruited 599 patients with >50% identifying as African-American and/or Latinx. Her team successfully developed an approach to acupuncture that is feasible for the fast-paced ED setting, produces significantly greater pain reductions than usual care alone, and is used and rated highly acceptable by diverse ED patients with acute musculoskeletal pain.

In the patient-centered focus, she leads several ongoing studies investigating the relationship between biopsychosocial factors and pain-related outcomes in ED patients, patient expectations for ED pain management, and the relationship between post-ED care pathways and downstream opioid use.

Regarding research on improving and implementing ED best practices, Dr. Eucker is site-PI for the multi-site PROCOVAXED study aiming to improve COVID-19 vaccination rates among ED patients through multi-media informational platforms. She has been a co-investigator in a multi-center AHRQ implementation study to improve safe ED prescribing for older adults. She also leads a multi-professional quality improvement and research effort to improve naloxone and buprenorphine prescribing for ED patients with opioid overdose and OUD. She has also partnered with Durham County and other community partners to improve linkages to care through peer support specialists in the ED.

Regarding training, Dr. Eucker has mentored numerous trainees in research, including undergraduates, graduate students, medical student, resident physicians, physician assistants and junior faculty over the past several years.  She is highly experienced at engaging learners at their level of understanding and interest in the research process, from novice researchers to those with extensive experience.  Her mentees have coauthored numerous publications and progressed to leading projects under her mentorship.

Dr. Mitchell Knisely, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, PMGT-BC, FAAN is an Associate Professor in the Healthcare in Adult Populations Division of the Duke University School of Nursing.

Dr. Knisely’s research focuses on the application of precision health approaches to understand and ameliorate pain and promote equitable pain care in individuals with sickle cell disease and other chronic pain conditions. His program of research includes studies seeking to understand biopsychosocial contributors to individuals' pain experiences, as well as pragmatic clinical trials evaluating the use of non-pharmacological interventions (e.g., acupuncture) for the treatment of acute and chronic pain.

Dr. Knisely is board certified as an Adult Health Clinical Nurse Specialist and in Pain Management Nursing. He earned his BSN from Purdue University and his MSN and PhD from Indiana University. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in genomics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing and trained at NIH's National Institute of Nursing Research Summer Genetics Institute. His research and training have been supported by several internal and external grants, including funding from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Knisely is a Fellow in the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders & Innovators and was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. Dr. Knisely serves on the Editorial Board for Pain Management Nursing and on the Board of Directors for the American Society for Pain Management Nursing. He is also actively involved in the International Society of Nurses in Genetics, USASP, and IASP.