Nearly 8 million people in England have moderate to severe chronic pain, which clearly has a significant impact on their lives. Treatment with opioids is often recommended, but the side effects of taking these medications can often outweigh the benefits of long term use, so we need to be looking at alternatives.

There is no evidence that shows long-term benefits of taking opioid medication on pain relief. Prescribing has increased dramatically over the past few years and it has recently been suggested that the UK is facing an opioid epidemic! So the aim of this study is to test the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of a self-management programme, helping people to reduce their opioid consumption and improve their quality of life.

Find out more about the I-WOTCH study on our webpage