Role of Active Versus Passive Complementary and Integrative Health Approaches in Pain Management

Area of Science:

• Pain Management
• Complementary and Integrative Health (CIH)
• Health Education

Background:

• Traditional passive pain treatments often yield discouraging results.
• Patients tend to prefer passive over active pain management strategies.
• Active treatments should be prioritized in pain management, with passive interventions as supplementary.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess if Veterans increase their utilization of active, transitional, and passive complementary and integrative health (CIH) modalities after a pain education program.
• To test the hypothesis that active CIH utilization would significantly increase compared to transitional and passive modalities.

Main Methods:

• Secondary analysis of data from a quasi-experimental, 1-group, pre-/posttest design study.
• 103 Veterans completed a 12-week "Pain Education School" program.
• Pre- and post-program assessments utilized an adapted Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire©.

Main Results:

• Significant increases in the utilization of active (p<.001), transitional (p=.011), and passive (p=.007) CIH modalities were observed.
• The study found significant differences between pre- and post-intervention measures for all CIH types.

Conclusions:

• Pain education interventions, coupled with available treatment options, can enhance CIH modality use.
• The pain education program aligns with pain self-management goals, emphasizing active interventions.
• Findings support the integration of educational programs to encourage active approaches in chronic pain management.