Two facts sit awkwardly together.
Older adults carry the heaviest chronic pain burden in the country — 36.0% of adults 65 and over reported chronic pain in 2023. And older Black adults have historically been among the least represented groups in the pain research meant to address it.
PROACTIVE, the PROACTIVE Study for Black Elders, is a University of Florida study designed around that gap rather than around it. It is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT06512727 and is currently listed as recruiting. The principal investigator is Dr. Staja “Star” Booker. The full record — design, eligibility, outcomes and contacts — is public on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Why a study designed specifically for this group, rather than a general study that includes them?
Because “including” a population and designing for one are different activities, and they produce different research. A general study recruits whoever responds and hopes the sample is diverse enough to say something. A study built around a specific community can ask questions that matter to that community, use measures that make sense in it, recruit through relationships rather than flyers, and take seriously the historical reasons why trust is not the default.
That approach is not a courtesy. It is a methodological requirement if the resulting evidence is going to apply to the people it claims to be about.
The full study record — design, eligibility criteria, locations, outcome measures, and contact information — is public on ClinicalTrials.gov under NCT06512727. Registered trials are public by design, and reading the record is a reasonable thing to do before contacting anyone.
If you are interested in pain research at UF more broadly, the research registry below is the general front door.
What we study:
- Pain and Aging
- Chronic Pain Risk Factors
- Pain and the Brain
- Musculoskeletal Pain
- Pain and Exercise
- Non-Medical Treatment of Pain
Prefer to talk to a person? Call 352-273-5967 or email PRICE-CTSI@ufl.edu.
UF Study ID IRB201400126
References
- The PROACTIVE Study for Black Elders. Principal Investigator: Staja Q. Booker, PhD, RN. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT06512727. Status: Recruiting. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06512727
- Lucas JW, Sohi I. Chronic Pain and High-impact Chronic Pain in U.S. Adults, 2023. NCHS Data Brief No. 518. National Center for Health Statistics; November 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db518.htm
- PRICE Research Registry recruitment materials, UF Study ID IRB201400126. IRB-approved; supplied by site owner. https://is.gd/PRICE