Short-Term Findings From Testing EPIO, a Digital Self-Management Program for People Living With Chronic Pain:...

Area of Science:

• Digital health interventions
• Chronic pain management
• Psychosocial interventions

Background:

• Chronic pain presents significant physical and psychological challenges.
• In-person psychosocial interventions are not always accessible.
• Digital self-management tools can bridge this accessibility gap for pain management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the short-term effectiveness of EPIO, a digital self-management intervention.
• To assess EPIO's impact on pain interference, psychological distress, and self-regulation in chronic pain patients.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial comparing EPIO to care-as-usual.
• 266 patients with chronic pain were randomized.
• Outcomes included pain interference, anxiety, depression, self-regulatory fatigue, quality of life, pain catastrophizing, and pain acceptance.

Main Results:

• No significant change in pain interference (primary outcome).
• Significant reductions in depression and self-regulatory fatigue in the EPIO group.
• High user satisfaction with EPIO's usefulness and ease of use.

Conclusions:

• Digital interventions like EPIO show potential for improving psychological well-being in chronic pain.
• EPIO may help reduce depression and enhance self-regulation capacity.
• User-centered digital tools can support chronic pain self-management.