Treatment expectation for pain coping skills training: relationship to osteoarthritis patients' baseline psychosocial...

This study examined predictors of treatment expectation among osteoarthritis (OA) patients in a multisite clinical trial of pain coping skills training (CST).

Patients (N=171) completed a pretreatment assessment battery that asked questions about treatment expectations, pain coping variables, pain, physical function, psychological distress, quality of life, and depression as well as background demographic and medical variables.

Regression analyses indicated that several variables accounted for 21% of the variance in treatment expectations (P<0.0001). Patients who were classified as adaptive copers, reported higher self-efficacy and social interaction, had higher quality of life, and who had lower levels of affective distress and depression had more positive expectations about engaging in pain CST. Variables that were not associated with treatment expectation were level of pain and physical dysfunction, duration of disease, and disability status as well as demographic variables.

Although many OA patients will approach pain CST with positive expectations, others have lower expectations. This study suggests that a multidimensional assessment of OA patients with chronic pain can identify those who have higher expectations versus lower expectations. The results suggest that patients who are psychologically distressed are less optimistic about engaging in treatment and that these patients, in particular, may benefit from and need pretreatment motivational interviewing to enhance their uptake of pain coping skills.