Virtual Coach-Guided Online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Chronic Pain: Pilot Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial

• Published in: JMIR formative research 2024-11, Vol.8, p.e56437
• Main Authors: Reilly, Erin D, Kelly, Megan M, Grigorian, Hannah L, Waring, Molly E, Quigley, Karen S, Hogan, Timothy P, Heapy, Alicia A, Drebing, Charles E, Volonte, Matias, Kathawalla, Ummul-Kiram, Robins, Hannah E, Bernice, Katarina, Bickmore, Timothy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - methods; Adult; Aged; Behavior modification; Chronic pain; Chronic Pain - therapy; Clinical outcomes; Clinical trials; Exercise; Feasibility; Feasibility Studies; Female; Humans; Intervention; Male; Mental health; Middle Aged; Narcotics; Original Paper; Pain management; Pain Management - methods; Pilot Projects; Quality of life; Usability; Veterans; Veterans - psychology; Veterans health care
• ISSN: 2561-326X; 2561-326X
• DOI: 10.2196/56437

Veterans are disproportionately affected by chronic pain, with high rates of pain diagnoses (47%-56%) and a 40% higher rate of prevalence of severe pain than nonveterans. This is often accompanied by negative functional outcomes and higher mortality. Combined with research suggesting medical treatments for chronic pain are often insufficient, there is an urgent need for nonmedical pain self-management programs. An interactive online platform to deliver an efficacious treatment for chronic pain such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) could be a valuable option to assist veterans with pain care at home. This study aims to evaluate the virtual coach-guided Veteran ACT for Chronic Pain (VACT-CP) online program compared to a waitlist and treatment as usual (WL+TAU) control group through a small pilot feasibility randomized controlled trial. The primary aim was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of VACT-CP and study procedures, such as ease of recruitment, treatment receptivity, attrition and retention, sustained participation, system usability, and assessment of trial procedures. Secondary aims explored differences in the VACT-CP and WL+TAU groups on pre- and posttest (week 7) outcome measures for pain, mental health, functioning, and ACT processes. Veterans with chronic pain were recruited and randomized to either the VACT-CP (n=20) or the WL+TAU (n=22) group in a parallel group trial design. Self-report surveys were administered to participants at baseline (week 0), at the intervention midpoint (week 3), immediately after the intervention (week 7), and at the 1-month follow-up (week 11). We used Wilcoxon signed rank tests with the intention-to-treat sample to describe changes in secondary outcomes from pre- to postintervention within each group. Study procedures showed good feasibility related to recruitment, enrollment, randomization, and study completion rates. Participants reported that VACT-CP was easy to use (System Usability Scale: mean 79.6, SD 12.8; median 82.5, IQR 70-87.5); they completed an average of 5 of the 7 total VACT-CP modules with high postintervention satisfaction rates. Qualitative feedback suggested a positive response to program usability, content tailoring, veteran centeredness, and perceived impact on pain management. Although the pilot feasibility trial was not powered to detect differences in clinical outcomes and significant findings should be interpreted with caution, the VACT-CP group experienced significant in