Innovative Care Models for Acute and Chronic Pain in Older Adults

Older adults experience a high burden of acute and chronic pain, often in the context of multimorbidity, frailty, cognitive impairment, and polypharmacy. Conventional service structures, fragmented between primary, specialty, long-term, and community care, can hinder comprehensive care, timely assessment, consistent follow-up, and safe, effective treatment. Demographic aging and escalating healthcare demands amplify the urgency to reimagine how we deliver pain care for this population. Age-appropriate, person-centered, and equity-focused models that integrate pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic strategies, leverage technology for access and continuity, and support caregivers are increasingly essential. This Research Topic invites work that advances assessment, management, and education in geriatric pain, aligning with global goals for health and reduced inequalities.

This collection aims to clarify what modern, scalable, and sustainable care models can improve outcomes for older adults with acute and chronic pain across settings. We seek contributions that: address accurate pain assessment in the context of cognitive impairment; refine pain phenotyping and risk stratification; test opioid-sparing, multimodal strategies; optimize transitions (e.g., perioperative to post-acute to community); strengthen adherence and self-management; and engage caregivers. We welcome studies that implement and evaluate integrated, team-based care; primary-specialty collaboration; hospital-at-home or transitional care models; community-based programs; and innovative delivery in emergency departments, long-term care, and rehabilitation. Submissions using telehealth, remote monitoring, digital therapeutics, or clinical decision support to extend reach and continuity are encouraged, as are approaches targeting disparities and social determinants of health, including in rural and under-resourced settings. We also invite work on deprescribing and polypharmacy management, behavioral and psychosocial interventions, education and workforce training, and preclinical or translational research on novel targets relevant to older adults.

We welcome Original Research, Clinical Trial reports, Brief Research Reports, Reviews, Systematic Reviews, Mini Reviews, Perspectives, Opinions, Hypothesis & Theory, Methods, Policy & Practice papers, Protocols, and Case Reports.

Thematic areas include:
- Age-appropriate pain assessment tools, communication, and outcomes in cognitive impairment
- Integrated and multidisciplinary care models across settings (primary, specialty, ED, perioperative, long-term care, community)
- Telehealth, remote monitoring, digital therapeutics, and decision support to enhance access and adherence
- Pain phenotyping, risk stratification, and mechanisms underlying behavioral/psychosocial approaches
- Opioid-sparing multimodal regimens; deprescribing and polypharmacy management
- Dissemination and implementation strategies; scale-up and sustainment
- Equity-focused models addressing disparities and social determinants of health
- Caregiver-engaged interventions and education; provider training and curricula
- Preclinical and translational studies on new targets tailored to aging physiology
- Economic, policy, and system-level evaluations of care models

Submissions should align closely with the Geriatric Pain section scope and contribute to SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

Conflict of Interest Statement:
Topic Editor Dr. Trevor Lentz receives financial support from Regenexx. The other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: Geriatric pain, Acute pain, Chronic pain, Care models, Multidisciplinary care, Pain assessment, Cognitive impairment, Telehealth and digital health, Implementation science, Health equity and disparities, Caregiver engagement

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.