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Published on: August 1, 2019
Comparing the clinical-effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an internet-delivered Acceptance and Commitment
Sara Hayes1, Michael Hogan2, Haulie Dowd3
1Department of Clinical Therapies, Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
Introduction:
Internet-delivered psychological interventions among people with chronic pain have the potential to overcome environmental and economic barriers to the provision of evidence-based psychological treatment in the Irish health service context. While the use of internet-delivered cognitive-behavioural therapy programmes has been consistently shown to have small-to-moderate effects in the management of chronic pain, there is a paucity in the research regarding the effectiveness of an internet-delivered Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) programme among people with chronic pain. The current study will compare the clinical-effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an online ACT intervention with a waitlist control condition in terms of the management of pain-related functional interference among people with chronic pain.
Methods And Analysis:
Participants with non-malignant pain that persists for at least 3 months will be randomised to one of two study conditions. The experimental group will undergo an eight-session internet-delivered ACT programme over an 8-week period. The control group will be a waiting list group and will be offered the ACT intervention after the 3-month follow-up period. Participants will be assessed preintervention, postintervention and at a 3-month follow-up. The primary outcome will be pain-related functional interference. Secondary outcomes will include: pain intensity, depression, global impression of change, acceptance of chronic pain and quality of life. A qualitative evaluation of the perspectives of the participants regarding the ACT intervention will be completed after the trial.
Ethics And Dissemination:
The study will be performed in agreement with the Declaration of Helsinki and is approved by the National University of Ireland Galway Research Ethics Committee (12/05/05). The results of the trial will be published according to the CONSORT statement and will be presented at conferences and reported in peer-reviewed journals.
Trial Registration Number:
ISRCTN18166896.
