Developing a Tailored Psychosocial Education Intervention for Chronic Pain Management for Asian Americans

NCT ID: NCT06725329

Last Updated: 2025-09-26

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 45 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-03-08
• Study Completion Date: 2026-04-30

Brief Summary

Health inequalities in chronic pain exists in the US, with a greater burden of chronic pain and higher rate of misdiagnosis and undertreatment reported in minoritized groups compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Asian Americans (AA) are the fastest-growing racial/ethnic group in the US, yet despite the rapid growth in their numbers, AA remain under-represented in pain disparity research. Cultural norms of Asians may discourage reporting their pain to avoid burdening others or being seen as weak. Rather than seeking medical assistance, Asians have been reported to tend to accept the pain as natural or to suffer to maintain their independence. Very few evidence-based programs are available that can be implemented for this linguistically/socially isolated population in the US. This proposed study aims to fill critical knowledge gaps in pain disparity research by providing evidence of feasibility and acceptability of a culturally-tailored psychosocial pain education intervention for an underrepresented population using the KA community as an exemplar.

Detailed Description

Chronic pain is a major population health issue affecting more than 100 million Americans and disparities in chronic pain have been widely documented, indicating minoritized racial and ethnic groups experience a higher burden of chronic pain and are at high risk for undertreatment of that pain. Asian Americans remain underrepresented in pain research; evidence regarding chronic pain experiences of Asian Americans is limited, as are resources and evidence-based programs for this group. This exploratory, developmental study will provide evidence of feasibility and acceptability of a culturally tailored psychosocial education intervention to reduce pain catastrophizing and improve pain outcomes for underrepresented and underserved minority populations.

Conditions

Chronic Pain

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Adapted and culturally-integrated psychosocial education intervention

Participants will receive the culturally adapted psychosocial educational program for chronic pain management. The investigators will adapt the Learn About My Pain (LAMP) program that has previously been established for efficacy in reducing chronic pain intensity, pain interference, and pain catastrophizing in racialized groups in community settings. The LAMP intervention provides biopsychosocial education sessions about chronic pain and its management.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

A tailored psychosocial education intervention

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Participants will get ten 60-minute psychoeducational group sessions about chronic pain and its management. The group sessions will be conducted by the PI and a bilingual project director at Korean churches or daycare centers in Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan area.

The psychoeducational group session will be adapted from LAMP intervention that has been previously developed. The intervention provides biopsychosocial education sessions about chronic pain and its management. For example, sessions focus on providing information regarding: (1) pain and the biological stress response and the gate control theory of pain, (2) the psychological impact of thoughts and emotions on pain and (3) facilitated group discussions to help participants develop a new understanding of pain through shared social experiences, all of which have been shown to improve pain outcomes.

Interventions

A tailored psychosocial education intervention

Participants will get ten 60-minute psychoeducational group sessions about chronic pain and its management. The group sessions will be conducted by the PI and a bilingual project director at Korean churches or daycare centers in Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan area.

The psychoeducational group session will be adapted from LAMP intervention that has been previously developed. The intervention provides biopsychosocial education sessions about chronic pain and its management. For example, sessions focus on providing information regarding: (1) pain and the biological stress response and the gate control theory of pain, (2) the psychological impact of thoughts and emotions on pain and (3) facilitated group discussions to help participants develop a new understanding of pain through shared social experiences, all of which have been shown to improve pain outcomes.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1. Female and male

2. ≥ 18 years old

3. Self-reported foreign born Korean Americans

4. Self-reported pain most days of the month for at least 3 months

5. Pain must be non-malignant, but may have more than one pain source

Exclusion Criteria

1. Having malignant pain (e.g., cancer or HIV-related)

2. Demonstrating significant cognitive impairment (based on results of a cognitive screener-Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire)

3. Having current, uncontrolled serious psychological disturbance (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder) or active substance abuse based on self-report

4. Having low literacy skills in Korean or English (unable to understand the written consent and to sign)

5. Undergoing other psychosocial treatment for pain

• If excluding a population or group that may benefit from the research, please provide justification: We will exclude children. The original intervention (LAMP) trial has established for efficacy in reducing chronic pain outcomes in adult population. Children are not our target population as we focus on developing a culturally tailored chronic pain management program based on LAMP.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

George Washington University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Hee Jun Kim

Associate Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

The George washington University

Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States

George Washington University School of Nursing

Ashburn, Virginia, United States

Countries

United States

Other Identifiers

1R21NR021224-01

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

NCR235347

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id