Telehealth Group-Based Pain Management Programs: Pre-Intervention Readiness to Change Maladaptive Pain Behaviors

Abstract

Objectives: Telehealth platforms have become a crucial part of healthcare since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary aim of this cohort study was to investigate pain outcomes, following telehealth group-based pain management programs (GPMPs) with a focus on comparing subjects who were readier to change (RTC) maladaptive pain behaviors prior to intervention versus those subjects who were less ready to change. Methods: Subjects were divided at baseline into one of 2 cohort groups; the exposed group (more RTC) and unexposed group (less RTC). There were 5 separate telehealth GPMP groups each consisting of subjects from both cohort groups. Each group met once a week via zoom software and ran over a course of 6 weeks in which Chronic Pain (CP) self-management techniques were taught. Pain outcome measures were taken at baseline and at after the final telehealth GPMP. Results: The unexposed group scored greater magnitude in change of scores from pre-to-post intervention in which these changes all signified improvements in scores following the telehealth GPMPs. The primary pain constructs examined being pain self-efficacy, pain catastrophizing and pain kinesiophobia all showed moderate to large effect sizes between the groups; Cohen`s d= 0.55, 0.77 and 0.65 respectively. Conclusions: Within and post the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth GPMPs have a clinically relevant role to play in the self-management treatment of patients with CP. Understanding individuals` levels of RTC prior to running telehealth GPMPs, seems to be an important factor in predicting improvements in various CP outcomes.