Brett Ankawi

Background: Chronic pain is common among individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) who are maintained on medications for OUD (MOUD; eg, buprenorphine or methadone). Chronic pain is associated with worse retention and higher levels of substance use. Treatment of individuals with chronic pain receiving MOUD can be challenging due to their increased clinical complexity. Given the acute and growing nature of the opioid crisis, MOUD is increasingly offered in a wide range of settings, where high-quality, clinician-delivered, empirically validated behavioral treatment for chronic pain may not be available. Therefore, digital treatments that support patient self-management of chronic pain and OUD have the potential for wider implementation to fill this gap. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of Integrating the Management of Pain and Addiction via Collaborative Treatment (IMPACT), an interactive digital treatment program with asynchronous coach feedback, compared to treatment as usual (TAU) in individuals with chronic pain and OUD receiving MOUD. Methods: Adult participants (n=160) receiving MOUD and reporting bothersome or high-impact chronic pain will be recruited from outpatient opioid treatment programs in Connecticut (United States) and randomized 1:1 to either IMPACT+TAU or TAU only. Participants randomized to IMPACT+TAU will complete an interactive digital treatment that includes 9 modules promoting training in pain and addiction coping skills and a progressive walking program. The program is augmented with a weekly personalized voice message from a trained coach based on daily participant-reported pain intensity and interference, craving to use opioids, sleep quality, daily steps, pain self-efficacy, MOUD adherence, and engagement with IMPACT collected through digital surveys. Outcomes will be assessed at 3, 6, and 9 months post randomization. The primary outcome is MOUD retention at 3 months post randomization (ie, post treatment). Secondary outcomes include pain interference, physical functioning, MOUD adherence, substance use, craving, pain intensity, sleep disturbance, pain catastrophizing, and pain self-efficacy. Semistructured qualitative interviews with study participants (n=34) randomized to IMPACT (completers and noncompleters) will be conducted to evaluate the usability and quality of the program and its outcomes. Results: The study has received institutional review board approval and began recruitment at 1 site in July 2022. Recruitment at a second site started in January 2023, with a third and final site anticipated to begin recruitment in January 2024. Data collection is expected to continue through June 2025. Conclusions: Establishing efficacy for a digital treatment for addiction and chronic pain that can be integrated into MOUD clinics will provide options for individuals with OUD, which reduce barriers to behavioral treatment. Participant feedback on the intervention will inform updates or modifications to improve engagement and efficacy. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05204576; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05204576 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/54342

BACKGROUND Chronic pain is common among individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) who are maintained on medications for OUD (MOUD; eg, buprenorphine or methadone). Chronic pain is associated with worse retention and higher levels of substance use. Treatment of individuals with chronic pain receiving MOUD can be challenging due to their increased clinical complexity. Given the acute and growing nature of the opioid crisis, MOUD is increasingly offered in a wide range of settings, where high-quality, clinician-delivered, empirically validated behavioral treatment for chronic pain may not be available. Therefore, digital treatments that support patient self-management of chronic pain and OUD have the potential for wider implementation to fill this gap. OBJECTIVE This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of Integrating the Management of Pain and Addiction via Collaborative Treatment (IMPACT), an interactive digital treatment program with asynchronous coach feedback, compared to treatment as usual (TAU) in individuals with chronic pain and OUD receiving MOUD. METHODS Adult participants (n=160) receiving MOUD and reporting bothersome or high-impact chronic pain will be recruited from outpatient opioid treatment programs in Connecticut (United States) and randomized 1:1 to either IMPACT+TAU or TAU only. Participants randomized to IMPACT+TAU will complete an interactive digital treatment that includes 9 modules promoting training in pain and addiction coping skills and a progressive walking program. The program is augmented with a weekly personalized voice message from a trained coach based on daily participant-reported pain intensity and interference, craving to use opioids, sleep quality, daily steps, pain self-efficacy, MOUD adherence, and engagement with IMPACT collected through digital surveys. Outcomes will be assessed at 3, 6, and 9 months post randomization. The primary outcome is MOUD retention at 3 months post randomization (ie, post treatment). Secondary outcomes include pain interference, physical functioning, MOUD adherence, substance use, craving, pain intensity, sleep disturbance, pain catastrophizing, and pain self-efficacy. Semistructured qualitative interviews with study participants (n=34) randomized to IMPACT (completers and noncompleters) will be conducted to evaluate the usability and quality of the program and its outcomes. RESULTS The study has received institutional review board approval and began recruitment at 1 site in July 2022. Recruitment at a second site started in January 2023, with a third and final site anticipated to begin recruitment in January 2024. Data collection is expected to continue through June 2025. CONCLUSIONS Establishing efficacy for a digital treatment for addiction and chronic pain that can be integrated into MOUD clinics will provide options for individuals with OUD, which reduce barriers to behavioral treatment. Participant feedback on the intervention will inform updates or modifications to improve engagement and efficacy. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05204576; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05204576 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT DERR1-10.2196/54342

Objective: Pain resilience, one’s ability to maintain behavioral engagement and adaptively regulate cognitions and emotions despite intense or prolonged pain, has been shown to protect against negative pain-related outcomes in experimental settings. A weakness of this research, and much of experimental pain research in general, has been the lack of rationale behind the selection of noxious stimuli, which can activate different nociceptive fibers. The present study sought to determine if the relationship between pain resilience and pain ratings differed across stimuli based on the stimulated nociceptors.Methods: Healthy undergraduate students (N= 100; mean [SD] age = 19.4 [1.2] years; 60% female) completed the Pain Resilience Scale and provided continuous pain ratings during exposure to three different tasks, each selected based on their ability to stimulate specific combinations of nociceptive fibers: pinprick (Aδ fibers), cold water immersion (Aδ and C fibers), and ischemic tourniquet (C fibers).Results: Participants with high pain resilience reported lower pain ratings over time during cold water immersion than did those with low pain resilience (F(1, 39) = 8.526,p= .006); however, there was no relationship between pain resilience and pain ratings during either of the pinprick or ischemic tourniquet stimuli.Conclusions: This study provides further support for the use of multiple pain stimuli for pain assessment given their unique characteristics and concludes that outcome variables aside from pain ratings may provide additional insight into the role of resilience on pain adaptation.

The purpose of this review is to evaluate and summarize recent empirical research investigating motivational factors for management of chronic pain and headache disorders. Research on motivation for non-pharmacological treatment of chronic pain and headache disorders has identified factors that influence initiation of and adherence to treatment. To address common factors that inhibit initiation of treatment (i.e., cost, time commitment), several electronic treatments have been developed. Self-efficacy is the most commonly studied psychosocial influence on treatment adherence, with evidence that it is positively correlated with adherence. Other studies have sought to improve adherence to treatment using motivational interviewing interventions. There is currently limited research on how to enhance motivation for initial adherence to non-pharmacological treatment for chronic pain and headache disorders. Instead of enhancing motivation, researchers have looked to reduce barriers to treatment with electronic health treatments; however, many of these studies have focused on intervention feasibility, rather than efficacy or effectiveness. Numerous studies have identified a relationship between self-efficacy and treatment adherence. Although motivational interviewing interventions have been shown to improve adherence to treatment, there is little evidence that they improve treatment outcomes. Recommendations for further investigation include improving interventions to enhance accessibility and adherence to treatment with the goal of improving outcomes, as well as identifying ways to improve treatment initiation and adherence in patients who are currently engaged in long-term opioid therapy.