Internet-Delivered Pain Self-Management for Persons With Acute Recurrent and Chronic Pancreatitis Pain

Severe abdominal pain is a cardinal symptom of pancreatitis, present in up to 90% of patients with recurrent acute pancreatitis (RAP) and chronic pancreatitis (CP). As pain increases in severity and constancy, it is associated with significant morbidity including depression and anxiety symptoms, low physical functioning, sleep disturbance, and low quality of life, as well as high economic and societal burden. This application focuses on addressing this treatment gap in pain management with a well-established nonpharmacologic intervention. The investigators propose a hybrid effectiveness-implementation design type 1 trial to make rapid translational gains with the primary goal of gathering data on treatment effects of internet-delivered pain self-management on pancreatitis pain and pain interference in individuals with RAP and CP with a secondary goal of gathering implementation data to inform dissemination of the program to real-world settings. Our central hypothesis is that pain self-management will be effective in reducing pain interference and severity in individuals with painful RAP and CP. This study will leverage resources of the Chronic Pancreatitis, Diabetes, and Pancreatic Cancer (CPDPC) Consortium, a National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases-sponsored U01 consortium with recruitment from their nine clinical centers and from self-referral in the community through partnership with the National Pancreas Foundation. Using a multicenter randomized-controlled pragmatic clinical trial, the study team will enroll 280 individuals with painful CP into the clinical trial and randomize them to learn pain self-management skills (e.g., relaxation, activity pacing, goal setting) or receive education, and will collect patient-reported outcomes at baseline, two months, and six-month follow-up. Relevant stakeholder groups (patients, providers, organizational managers) will participate in a process evaluation to inform future implementation in clinic and community settings. The proposed investigation will significantly advance solutions for nonopioid pain management in CP.

Inclusion criteria

• Age ≥ 18 years
• Willingness to use personal device with internet access (smart phone, computer, iPad) or to borrow a study iPad/hotspot
• Diagnosis of CP defined as having obvious morphological features of CP (i.e., Cambridge 3-4 stage or the presence of pancreatic calcifications on CT scan and/or magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography)
• Diagnosis of RAP defined as having abdominal pain of a duration of >=3 months, one episode of acute pancreatitis (AP), or RAP.
• Having experienced moderate pain intensity (rated as 4 or higher on a 0-10 Numerical Rating Scale) in the last month from RAP or CP.

Exclusion criteria

• Undergoing treatment for cancer
• Unable to read English well enough to complete questionnaires or read the study website
• Currently experiencing suicidal ideation
• Having received endoscopic therapy in the past 30 days
• Currently receiving treatment from a psychologist (> 4 sessions)