in a 2015 article in the "annual review of public health", researchers wrote that, "between 1996 and 2002, purdue pharma funded more than 20,000 pain-related educational programs through direct sponsorship or financial grants and launched a multifaceted campaign to encourage long-term use of [opioid painkillers] for chronic non-cancer pain. as part of this campaign, purdue provided financial support to the american pain society, the american academy of pain medicine, the federation of state medical boards, the joint commission, pain patient groups, and other organizations. in turn, these groups all advocated for more aggressive identification and treatment of pain, especially use of [opioid painkillers]."