Women report more chronic pain than men and are more likely to be prescribed, and rely on prescribed opioids, to help address chronic pain. Since 2021, we have led research and knowledge translation around women’s chronic pain and prescription opioid use that reflects women’s lived and living experiences. We have created sex, gender, equity, and trauma informed resources for both women with chronic pain and their health care providers and have augmented the recently released Canadian Pain Task Force Report and Action Plan for Pain in Canada.

We continue to collaborate with researchers, people with lived experience, educators, and health care providers on advancing sex, gender and equity informed research and practice related to women’s chronic pain.

Info Sheets and Guides:

  • Pain Management Strategies for Women with Chronic Pain (English, French, 2024) – This resource describes evidence-based pain management strategies and how they can be used for pain management.
  • Women, Chronic Pain & Prescription Opioids (English, French, 2024) – This info sheet provides an overview of prescription opioids, how they impact women’s health, and why women may use prescription opioids in their pain management plan.
  • Women and Prescription Opioids Info Sheet – This info sheet provides an overview of prescription opioids and women’s health, with a specific focus on maternal health.
  • Finding Trauma-Informed Support – This info sheet was created to help women find, and advocate for, trauma-informed healthcare and social services.
  • Women and Chronic Pain Conditions (English, French, 2024) – This infographic highlights nine chronic pain conditions that disproportionately impact women.
  • Women, Chronic Pain, and Prescription Opioids: 8 Key Facts and Ideas for Action (English, French, 2024) – This infographic for service providers outlines four facts about women’s chronic pain and four ideas to address women’s needs. 
  • 8 Most Evidenced Treatments for Women’s Chronic Pain (English, French, 2024) – This infographic explores the eight most frequently cited pain management strategies for women’s chronic pain and how they can be used for pain and symptom management.

Toolkits and Resource Lists:

Training:

Reports:

  • Including Sex, Gender, and Equity in the Action Plan for Pain in Canada (2024) – A policy report that examines the research on sex and gender factors affecting chronic pain and applies SGBA+ to the Action Plan for Pain in Canada.
  • Scoping Review Executive Summary (English, French, 2023) – This document summarizes the main findings from a scoping review on women’s experiences with prescription opioid use for chronic pain.
      • Research Methodology and Full References – This resource provides a brief overview of the methodology used for the scoping review and subsequent literature reviews that informed all the products developed in this project. It includes a comprehensive list of references.

Multimedia:

Collaborations and Partnerships:

  • In collaboration with the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada and informed by people with lived and living experience, we created resources for people with endometriosis and their loved ones (2025):
    • What is Endometriosis? (English, French) – This resource includes information about what endometriosis is, common endometriosis symptoms, how endometriosis is diagnosed, and how to prepare for a doctor’s appointment if you think you have endometriosis.
    • Endometriosis Pain and Symptom Management (English, French) – In this resource, information on evidence-based treatment and management options is provided.
    • Supporting a Loved One with Endometriosis (English, French) – This resource offers ideas for how to support a loved one with endometriosis.
    • Six posters were created on:

Learn more:

  • Visit the Opioids page to find other publications and resources of interest