This poster presents a high-level overview of a nationwide initiative, led by Solutions for Kids in Pain (SKIP), to improve the effective, safe, and equitable use of opioids for pain in youth in Canada. Responding to the call from Health Canada’s Action Plan for Pain in Canada (2021), the project is developing better approaches to opioid prescribing and medical use for acute and chronic pain in youth. 

SKIP’s Knowledge Mobilization network and its partners have been working with youth and caregivers , health professionals, decision-makers, and organizational partners to develop new resources, share information, build capacity, and launch a public awareness campaign focused on the medical use of opioids for pain management in youth.

The poster, like the initiative itself, will elevate the priority of improving approaches to opioid prescribing and use for youth in pain. This includes a focus on developing new resources, promoting knowledge mobilization, highlighting the importance of equity and anti-stigmatization, focusing on equity-seeking populations, and the need for critical leadership to bridge the gap between science and practice in addressing both the pain and substance use crises in Canada in a coordinated way.