Astroturf activism and opioid advocacy targeting veterans: A qualitative case study of the American Pain Foundation's Military/Veteran Initiative

Background

Industry-funded patient advocacy shaped opioid-related public health messaging, yet less is known about how such advocacy constructed opioid access for military veterans, a population with high moral standing and pain burden. Astroturf activism refers to sponsor-supported advocacy presented as independent grassroots or patient-centered mobilization, thereby obscuring or backgrounding commercial interests. This study contributes to scholarship on the commercial determinants of health by examining how industry-supported advocacy mobilized veteran identity, deservingness, and pain-related rights claims.