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Enhancing Motivation for Change in the Management of Chronic Painful Conditions: a Review of Recent Literature

  • Psychological and Behavioral Aspects of Headache and Pain (D Buse, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

The purpose of this review is to evaluate and summarize recent empirical research investigating motivational factors for management of chronic pain and headache disorders.

Recent Findings

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.

Summary

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.

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Funding

This study was funded by grants from the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development Service (CIN 13-407), the Department of Veterans Affairs VISN1 (CDA 13-350), and from the National Institutes of Health/National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (RFA-AT-14-005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA

    Brett Ankawi

  2. Pain Research, Informatics, Multimorbidities and Education (PRIME) Center, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA

    Brett Ankawi, Robert D. Kerns & Sara N. Edmond

  3. Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Robert D. Kerns & Sara N. Edmond

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  1. Brett Ankawi
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  2. Robert D. Kerns
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  3. Sara N. Edmond
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Correspondence to Brett Ankawi.

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Brett Ankawi, Robert D. Kerns, and Sara N. Edmond declare no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Psychological and Behavioral Aspects of Headache and Pain

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Ankawi, B., Kerns, R.D. & Edmond, S.N. Enhancing Motivation for Change in the Management of Chronic Painful Conditions: a Review of Recent Literature. Curr Pain Headache Rep 23, 75 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-019-0813-x

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