Managing Chronic Pain Through Self-Help

Summary

Chronic pain has a significant impact on the physical and emotional functioning of those living with this condition. It is now recognized that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an effective treatment in managing chronic pain; however, several barriers limit its accessibility. Therefore, self-help versions of ACT are promising because they offer a cost-effective treatment option that usually require little support from a therapist, and can be widely accessed.

The current study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of predominantly self-help ACT interventions (web-based and bibliotherapy programs) in comparison to an education intervention among adults living with chronic pain.

The current study was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with two experimental groups and an active control group. The first experimental group received access to an internet platform with videos, interactive content and exercises based on ACT. The second experimental group received a copy of a self-help book based on ACT for chronic pain and had access to this book's website which includes audio mindfulness exercises. The third group consisted of an active control group, in which participants received pamphlet style pdf documents of education for pain (without any ACT components) as well as related practical exercises.

Conditions

• Chronic Pain

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Self-help Acceptance and commitment therapy (Web-based)

9 week program with minimal contact with therapist (predominantly self-help)

BEHAVIORAL

Self-help Acceptance and commitment therapy (bibliotherapy)

9 week program with contact with therapist (predominantly self-help)

OTHER

Self-help Education pamphlets on pain (active control group)

9 week program with contact with therapist (predominantly self-help)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Quebec Pain Research Network

  collaborator OTHER

• Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Frederick Dionne, Ph.D. · Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières

• Marie-Eve Martel, Psy.D. · Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-10-01

Primary Completion

2019-06-27

Completion

2019-06-28

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations