This webinar will explore health service use by people with chronic pain, and identify issues associated with health service use. Ria will cover some background to chronic pain in Australia, as well as current evidence and recommendations for treatment, and present the findings from a qualitative study exploring the accessibility of health services in Australia for chronic pain. The presentation will also include some of the implications of the issues identified with service access for people with chronic pain, including those who are prescribed opioid medicines.

About the speaker

Ria Hopkins is a PhD candidate and researcher at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW Sydney whose interests include pharmacoepidemiology, public health, and policy. Ria’s current work includes both quantitative and qualitative projects to identify and address issues in health service utilisation and access by people with chronic pain, including those on opioid therapy, and she is particularly interested in the accessibility of health care services as well as the impact of opioid regulations and rhetoric on people living with chronic pain.