Washington: In recent clinical studies investigationA line “e-health” program helped more people with chronic pain reduce your opioid medications and pain intensity than a control group receiving conventional care alone.
In the study published in the journal Pain, around 400 participants who had been prescribed long-term opioid treatment for their pain were divided into two groups: one received treatment as usual and one received treatment and access to self-guided , e-health program. Of the eHealth group, more than half, 53.6%, were able to reduce their opioid medications by 15% or more after six months compared to 42.3% of patients in the control group.
“These were very encouraging findings: they were not only reducing opioids but also their pain wasn’t getting worse,” said Marian Wilson, an associate professor of nursing at Washington State University and the study’s lead author. “Some people hesitate to stop their opioid medication because they fear their pain will increase, but we found that in fewer on average in this population, could reduce their opioids a little bit and have no more pain symptoms.
An estimated 50 million people in the US chronic pain and about 18 million are prescribed long-term opioid treatment. Since the risks of opioid use include addiction and even accidental death, researchers are looking for alternatives to help these patients.
At the start of this study, all of the participants rated their chronic pain as an average intensity of 5 or 6 on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the most extreme pain. Chronic pain can arise from a variety of conditions that have no cure, and study participants had a variety of diagnoses including arthritis, back pain, fibromyalgia and migraines.
At the end of the study, 14.5 percent of the e-health group reported that their pain was reduced by 2 points or more. Only 6.8 percent in the control group had the same level of pain reduction. The researchers also observed that the patients improved their knowledge of pain, confidence in pain management, and coping skills.
For this study, the researchers used an electronic health program designed by psychologists called Goalistics Chronic Pain Management. This self-guided course aims to help people manage their own grief and the many impacts it has on their lives. The program contains a combination of pain monitoring tools, cognitive therapy, exercise tips and relationship advice, as well as information on opioid use and risks.
The show provides content similar to what a patient might receive from a psychologist who specializes in pain, a treatment that isn’t easily accessible to everyone, Wilson said.
While similar programs exist, the researchers chose this one because it is widely available in the US and delivered entirely online. Wilson has also tested the Goalistics program in previous research and provided preliminary data for the large randomized trial in this study.
Since pain is such an individualized experience, the authors argue that patients may benefit from self-management programs so that they can keep track of their pain levels and experiment with different strategies.
“The idea is to put the patient in the driver’s seat because we can give them a prescription for opioids, and that will work for a while, but over time for chronic pain, it usually won’t be the solution to all of their problems.” problems,” she said.
Wilson added that chronic pain patients often have problems with physical, social and mood functioning that also need attention.
The findings provide further evidence that online self-management programs are beneficial for chronic pain patients, and a variety of agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, support their widespread use.
At the time of this study, the e-health program had a monthly fee of $30. Although relatively inexpensive compared to treatment by a pain psychologist, these types of programs are not covered by most insurance in the US Other countries, including Canada and Australia, provide similar programs to pain patients. for free, and Wilson is currently working on a larger access project in the US.
In addition to Wilson, study co-authors include Rowena Dolor of Duke University, as well as Daniel Lewis, Saundra Regan, Mary Beth Vonder Meulen, and T. John Winhusen of the University of Cincinnati. This work was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health.
