Telehealth Pain Self-Management for Employed Adults

NCT ID: NCT04248725

Last Updated: 2025-01-24

Study Results

Results available

Outcome measurements, participant flow, baseline characteristics, and adverse events have been published for this study.

View full results

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

220 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2020-03-02

Study Completion Date

2024-03-01

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

The E-TIPS trial will evaluate an evidence-based, telehealth pain self-management intervention compared to standard care (a waitlist) for chronic pain in adults with physical disabilities who are employed. Participants from anywhere in the US will be randomized to either E-TIPS, a cognitive-behavioral pain self-management intervention delivered by telephone, or a waitlist control. Outcomes, including pain interference, will be assessed at baseline, mid-treatment, post-treatment, and 6-month follow up.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Chronic pain is one of the most prevalent, disabling, and persistent comorbid conditions associated with physical disabilities, including limb loss, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and chronic neurodegenerative conditions such as multiple sclerosis. One half to two-thirds of adults with these conditions experience chronic pain. In addition to being associated with disability, depression, sleep disruption, and physical inactivity, chronic pain has deleterious social and societal costs, including job loss and reliance on long-term disability programs.

The E-TIPS intervention aims to address common barriers encountered by employed individuals with chronic pain. People with physical disabilities may be offered face-to-face delivery of pain self-management interventions, in clinical settings during business hours, which limits access to people with physical disabilities who are employed. These individuals must take time off work to attend multiple treatment sessions, overcome transportation difficulties, and contend with the stigma of seeking behavioral healthcare. Telehealth interventions, such as E-TIPS, have considerable potential for expanding the reach of pain self-management interventions for employed people with physical disabilities.

The proposed randomized (1:1), single-blind parallel-group trial will compare the E-TIPS telehealth pain self-management intervention to a waitlist control in adults with physical disabilities and chronic pain who are employed. Outcomes will be assessed before randomization, mid-treatment (6 weeks post-randomization), post-treatment (10 weeks post-randomization; primary endpoint), and 6-month follow up (25 weeks post-randomization). Participants will be recruited from across the US, including at University of Washington (UW) and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (SRALab).

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Chronic Pain Brain Injuries, Traumatic Multiple Sclerosis Spinal Cord Injuries Amputation

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

A randomized (1:1), single blind parallel-group trial comparing a telehealth pain self-management intervention, adapted to address employment issues (E-TIPS), to a waitlist control in adults with physical disabilities and chronic pain who are employed.
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

E-TIPS

The E-TIPS intervention is based upon a cognitive-behavioral intervention for pain that was developed for and shown to be effective in people with chronic pain and a physical disability such as the conditions of interest in this study. Eight, 45-minute telephone sessions will be delivered by a clinician. A patient workbook will be used to facilitate skill acquisition and rehearsal in and outside of sessions. The intervention includes education about the role of unhelpful thoughts, particularly pain catastrophizing, and unhelpful pain coping behaviors; instruction in how to identify and change unhelpful or negative thinking about pain; utilization of helpful coping strategies; relaxation techniques; behavioral activation including setting goals for physical activation, activity pacing and scheduling; and coping with pain flare-ups. Each session includes a brief relaxation exercise. Participants receive digital audio recordings of relaxation exercises to practice at home.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

E-TIPS

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Chronic pain self-management strategies for employed individuals with physical disabilities

Usual care

Participants assigned to the control intervention will continue to pursue standard care (a waitlist). Waitlist control subjects will be offered the opportunity to receive the intervention following completion of the final 6-month follow up outcome assessment.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

E-TIPS

Chronic pain self-management strategies for employed individuals with physical disabilities

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* 18 years of age or older
* Self-reported physical disability
* Chronic pain defined as daily pain of ≥ 3 months duration and ≥ 3 average pain intensity in the past week on a 0-10 numerical rating scale
* Experiences pain for more than 45 out of the past 90 days (defined as 50% of the time or greater)
* Reads, speaks, and understands English
* Has access to and is able to communicate over the telephone with our without assistive devices
* Is employed, working 15-20 hours per week or more, on average, or earning in excess of substantial gainful activity (approximately $1200/month)

We will enroll individuals with a range of physical disabilities to maximize the generalizability of the results, because there is no evidence that the type of disability affects responsiveness to the proposed treatment

Exclusion Criteria

* Under the age of 18
* Cannot read, speak, or understand English
* No self-reported physical disability
* Currently unemployed
* Plans to retire or leave employment within the study period
* Working fewer than 15-20 hours per week, on average, and earning less than approximately $1200 per month
* Cannot communicate or complete assessments over the phone or internet
* Chronic pain defined as daily pain of ≤ 3 months duration and ≤ 3 average pain intensity in the past week on a 0-10 numerical rating scale
* Experiences pain for fewer than 45 out of the past 90 days (defined as 50% of the time or less)
* Currently participating in another pain study or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) study
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research

FED

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Washington

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Dawn Ehde

Professor, School of Medicine: Rehabilitation Medicine:Psychology

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Dawn M Ehde, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Washington

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

University of Washington

Seattle, Washington, United States

Site Status

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

United States

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Ehde DM, Jensen MP, Engel JM, Turner JA, Hoffman AJ, Cardenas DD. Chronic pain secondary to disability: a review. Clin J Pain. 2003 Jan-Feb;19(1):3-17. doi: 10.1097/00002508-200301000-00002.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 12514452 (View on PubMed)

Dijkers M, Bryce T, Zanca J. Prevalence of chronic pain after traumatic spinal cord injury: a systematic review. J Rehabil Res Dev. 2009;46(1):13-29.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 19533517 (View on PubMed)

Ehde DM, Czerniecki JM, Smith DG, Campbell KM, Edwards WT, Jensen MP, Robinson LR. Chronic phantom sensations, phantom pain, residual limb pain, and other regional pain after lower limb amputation. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2000 Aug;81(8):1039-44. doi: 10.1053/apmr.2000.7583.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 10943752 (View on PubMed)

Krause JS, Cao Y, Clark JMR. Pain Intensity, Interference, and Medication Use After Spinal Cord Injury: Association With Risk of Mortality After Controlling for Socioeconomic and Other Health Factors. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2017 Dec;98(12):2464-2470. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2017.05.024. Epub 2017 Jun 23.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28652067 (View on PubMed)

Negre-Pages L, Regragui W, Bouhassira D, Grandjean H, Rascol O; DoPaMiP Study Group. Chronic pain in Parkinson's disease: the cross-sectional French DoPaMiP survey. Mov Disord. 2008 Jul 30;23(10):1361-9. doi: 10.1002/mds.22142.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 18546344 (View on PubMed)

Franklin GM, Wickizer TM, Coe NB, Fulton-Kehoe D. Workers' compensation: poor quality health care and the growing disability problem in the United States. Am J Ind Med. 2015 Mar;58(3):245-51. doi: 10.1002/ajim.22399. Epub 2014 Oct 20.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25331746 (View on PubMed)

Alschuler KN, Ehde DM, Jensen MP. The co-occurrence of pain and depression in adults with multiple sclerosis. Rehabil Psychol. 2013 May;58(2):217-21. doi: 10.1037/a0032008.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23713732 (View on PubMed)

Kroenke K, Wu J, Bair MJ, Krebs EE, Damush TM, Tu W. Reciprocal relationship between pain and depression: a 12-month longitudinal analysis in primary care. J Pain. 2011 Sep;12(9):964-73. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2011.03.003. Epub 2011 Jun 16.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 21680251 (View on PubMed)

Anand P, Ben-Shalom Y. The promise of better economic outcomes for workers with musculoskeletal conditions. Roosevelt House: Public Policy Institute at Hunter College.2017.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Social Security Administration. Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2015. Washington, DC2016.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

O'Connor AB, Schwid SR, Herrmann DN, Markman JD, Dworkin RH. Pain associated with multiple sclerosis: systematic review and proposed classification. Pain. 2008 Jul;137(1):96-111. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2007.08.024. Epub 2007 Oct 24.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 17928147 (View on PubMed)

Warms CA, Turner JA, Marshall HM, Cardenas DD. Treatments for chronic pain associated with spinal cord injuries: many are tried, few are helpful. Clin J Pain. 2002 May-Jun;18(3):154-63. doi: 10.1097/00002508-200205000-00004.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 12048417 (View on PubMed)

Ehde DM, Dillworth TM, Turner JA. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for individuals with chronic pain: efficacy, innovations, and directions for research. Am Psychol. 2014 Feb-Mar;69(2):153-66. doi: 10.1037/a0035747.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24547801 (View on PubMed)

Clarke G, Yarborough BJ. Evaluating the promise of health IT to enhance/expand the reach of mental health services. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2013 Jul-Aug;35(4):339-44. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2013.03.013. Epub 2013 May 20.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23701698 (View on PubMed)

Provided Documents

Download supplemental materials such as informed consent forms, study protocols, or participant manuals.

Document Type: Study Protocol

View Document

Document Type: Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

A133507

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

90RTEM0001-01-00

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

STUDY00005686

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.

Effective Screening for Pain Study
NCT01816763 COMPLETED NA