Digital app shows promise treating chronic pain without requiring in-person visits
A new digital behavioral treatment improved pain-related symptoms and quality of life in a 56-person trial, suggesting a scalable solution to chronic pain affecting 20% of the population. The finding matters because it could expand treatment access beyond capacity-constrained clinics and reduce disability costs for employers and health systems.
Originaltitel: Initial evidence of effects of a novel digital behavioural treatment for chronic pain: A series of replicated randomized single-case experimental design studies.
Karolinska Institutet har utvärderat en digital beteendeterapi för kronisk smärta utvecklad inom projektet DAHLIA. Behandlingen visade signifikanta förbättringar i dagliga dagboksstudier bland 56 deltagare (medelålder 47 år, 87% kvinnor) med smärtlindring från olika kroppregioner. Forskarna använde upprepad single-case experimentell design kombinerat med linjära blandade modeller. Resultaten påvisade störst effekt på smärtacceptans och psykologisk flexibilitet, medan effekten på smärtrelaterad funktionalitet var mindre. Studien genomfördes tillsammans med Capio St. Göran Hospital i Stockholm, Maastricht University och Örebro Universitet. För regionvård och inköpschefer är fynden relevanta då de indikerar att digitaliserad beteendeterapi kan reducera väntetider och öka tillgängligheten till evidensbaserad smärtbehandling. Resultaten utgör grund för större kliniska prövningar före eventuell implementering i hälsovården.
BACKGROUND: Chronic pain affects up to 20% of the population and often results in significant distress, disability, and reduced quality of life. Despite compelling evidence for behavioural treatments, treatment access remains limited. To improve access, a digital behavioural treatment for chronic pain was developed as part of the multi-phase 'DAHLIA' project. The present study evaluates the effects of this newly developed digital behavioural treatment. METHODS: Data were collected in a single-arm, iterative trial using a replicated single-case experimental design (SCED). In total, 56 participants received treatment (mean age 47, 87% female, varied pain regions). Participants completed twice daily digital diaries and questionnaires at pre-, and post-treatment, and at 3- and 6-months follow-ups. Diary items and questionnaires assessed psychological flexibility and acceptance, pain-related functioning, pain intensity, and general well-being. Daily diary data were examined using a combined p-value approach to conduct a meta-analysis of the SCED data, and questionnaire data were analysed using linear mixed models. RESULTS: Meta-analyses of daily diary data showed significant improvements in most pain-related items, indicating the utility of treatment in everyday life. Linear mixed model analyses of effects showed significant improvements over time in key outcomes with the largest changes observed in pain acceptance and psychological flexibility and smaller effects in pain-related functioning. CONCLUSION: This study provides initial evidence for the newly developed digital behavioural treatment for chronic pain. Findings suggest that the treatment can improve resilience, daily functioning and symptoms and suggest the potential of the treatment as an effective evidence-based treatment for chronic pain.