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A randomized controlled trial of an online self-management program for adults with arthritis pain

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Abstract

The objective of this RCT was to assess the efficacy of an online pain self-management program with adults who had a self-reported doctor diagnosis of arthritis pain (N = 228). Participants were recruited via flyers and online postings then randomized to the experimental condition or the wait-list control condition. Individuals in the experimental condition reported significantly (1) increased arthritis self-efficacy and (2) reduced pain catastrophizing from baseline to follow up compared to those in the control condition. High user engagement (>204.5 min on the website) was also significantly associated with improved self-management outcomes. These findings suggest that use of an online self-management program may positively impact self-efficacy and catastrophizing among adults with arthritis pain at 6 month follow up. Nonsignificant findings for hypothesized variables such as pain intensity and health behaviors are also discussed. Future longitudinal research is needed to assess if cognitive changes associated with participation in an online self-management program leads to reduced pain.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the following individuals for their contributions to this project: Ted Fields, Suzanne Gauthier, Penney Cowan, Mila Pavek, Emil Chiauzzi, Jonas Bromberg, Synne Wing Venuti, Evelyn Corsini, and Pedro Teixeira. Thanks also to the reviewers who provided input on previous drafts. This work was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (5R44AR061191-03). The funders had no part in designing the study, the collection of data and its analysis, or in the decision to complete or write this manuscript.

Conflict of Interest

Kimberlee J. Trudeau and Kevin Zacharoff are current employees of Inflexxion, Inc., Newton, MA. Raya Wall, Ryan A. Black, and Pronabesh DasMahapatra were employees of Inflexxion, Inc., Newton, MA at the time this study was conducted. Lynette A. Pujol has no conflicts to report.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Inflexxion, Inc., 320 Needham Street, Suite 100, Newton, MA, 02464, USA

    Kimberlee J. Trudeau, Pronabesh DasMahapatra, Raya Wall, Ryan A. Black & Kevin Zacharoff

  2. University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Lynette A. Pujol

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  1. Kimberlee J. Trudeau
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  2. Lynette A. Pujol
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Correspondence to Kimberlee J. Trudeau.

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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01463189.

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Trudeau, K.J., Pujol, L.A., DasMahapatra, P. et al. A randomized controlled trial of an online self-management program for adults with arthritis pain. J Behav Med 38, 483–496 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-015-9622-9

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