TY  - JOUR
AU  - Bostrøm, Katrine
AU  - Børøsund, Elin
AU  - Eide, Hilde
AU  - Varsi, Cecilie
AU  - Kristjansdottir, Ólöf Birna
AU  - Schreurs, Karlein M G
AU  - Waxenberg, Lori B
AU  - Weiss, Karen E
AU  - Morrison, Eleshia J
AU  - Stavenes Støle, Hanne
AU  - Cvancarova Småstuen, Milada
AU  - Stubhaug, Audun
AU  - Solberg Nes, Lise
PY  - 2023
DA  - 2023/8/25
TI  - Short-Term Findings From Testing EPIO, a Digital Self-Management Program for People Living With Chronic Pain: Randomized Controlled Trial
JO  - J Med Internet Res
SP  - e47284
VL  - 25
KW  - chronic pain
KW  - self-management
KW  - digital health
KW  - efficacy
KW  - cognitive behavioral therapy
KW  - acceptance and commitment therapy
AB  - Background: Chronic pain conditions involve numerous physical and psychological challenges, and while psychosocial self-management interventions can be of benefit for people living with chronic pain, such in-person treatment is not always accessible. Digital self-management approaches could improve this disparity, potentially bolstering outreach and providing easy, relatively low-cost access to pain self-management interventions. Objective: This randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the short-term efficacy of EPIO (ie, inspired by the Greek goddess for the soothing of pain, Epione), a digital self-management intervention, for people living with chronic pain. Methods: Patients (N=266) were randomly assigned to either the EPIO intervention (n=132) or a care-as-usual control group (n=134). Outcome measures included pain interference (Brief Pain Inventory; primary outcome measure), anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), self-regulatory fatigue (Self-Regulatory Fatigue 18 scale), health-related quality of life (SF-36 Short Form Health Survey), pain catastrophizing (Pain Catastrophizing Scale), and pain acceptance (Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire). Linear regression models used change scores as the dependent variables. Results: The participants were primarily female (210/259, 81.1%), with a median age of 49 (range 22-78) years and a variety of pain conditions. Analyses (n=229) after 3 months revealed no statistically significant changes for the primary outcome of pain interference (P=.84), but significant reductions in the secondary outcomes of depression (mean difference −0.90; P=.03) and self-regulatory fatigue (mean difference −2.76; P=.008) in favor of the intervention group. No other statistically significant changes were observed at 3 months (all P>.05). Participants described EPIO as useful (ie, totally agree or agree; 95/109, 87.2%) and easy to use (101/109, 92.7%), with easily understandable exercises (106/109, 97.2%). Conclusions: Evidence-informed, user-centered digital pain self-management interventions such as EPIO may have the potential to effectively support self-management and improve psychological functioning in the form of reduced symptoms of depression and improved capacity to regulate thoughts, feelings, and behavior for people living with chronic pain. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03705104; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03705104 
SN  - 1438-8871
UR  - https://www.jmir.org/2023/1/e47284
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/47284
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37624622
DO  - 10.2196/47284
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/47284
ER  -