Structured Treatment of Pain (STOP) Study

Summary

This study seeks to compare two different behavioral treatments for pain in Veterans with a history of TBI. Both treatments involve educating the Veteran about pain, discussing the impact of pain, and different ways to manage it in hopes of decreasing pain and its impact on life. These approaches are called "self-management" approaches to pain. Both of these treatments are commonly used in pain clinics to treat pain in persons with back pain, headaches, and other types of chronic pain. The investigators will be delivering both treatments over the telephone to make the treatments accessible to Veterans wherever they live.

Conditions

• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Chronic Pain

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Self-Management #1

Self-Management #1 will consist of eight 60-minute sessions conducted by phone over eight weeks. Sessions will include: (1) education about the role of cognitions and pain beliefs (including control) in chronic pain and adjustment; (2) instruction in how to identify negative thinking and cognitive distortions about pain; (3) instruction in thought-stopping and cognitive-restructuring techniques, including challenging negative thoughts and core beliefs about pain; (4) instruction in utilization of positive coping self-statements; (5) relaxation techniques; (6) activity pacing and scheduling; (7) coping with pain flare-ups; and (8) relapse prevention/maintenance of gains. Most sessions will include a brief relaxation exercise introduced over the phone.

BEHAVIORAL

Self-Management #2

Self-Management #2 will consist of eight 60-minute sessions conducted by phone over eight weeks (1 session/week on average). The sessions will cover a variety of topics, including: (1) the definition of chronic pain, (2) the physiological processes underlying chronic pain, (3) common pain-related conditions such as sleep and mood disturbance (including posttraumatic stress disorder, due to its prevalence among Veterans), (4) the potential effects of chronic pain on activity level, (5) communication (including communication with healthcare providers), and (6) the role of social support in managing pain.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command

  collaborator FED

• VA Puget Sound Health Care System

  collaborator FED

• University of Washington

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Jeanne M Hoffman, PhD · University of Washington

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2014-06-30

Primary Completion

2017-07-31

Completion

2017-09-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations