Recruiting

Digital Intervention

Sponsor:

VA Office of Research and Development

Code:

NCT06058624

Conditions

Chronic Pain

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Veteran ACT for Chronic Pain (VACT-CP)

Online Pain School

Study Details

Brief summary:

Pain has been identified as among the most frequent presenting medical complaints, in particular within primary care for Veterans. There are few areas of daily living and functioning that pain intensity does not impact, with reported pain intensity related to difficulties in social situations and changes in activities of daily life, sleep, and appetite. Therapeutic interventions such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Chronic Pain (ACT-CP) that target issues related to the cognitions and emotional concerns related to chronic pain have been well-documented for reduction of associated psychiatric symptoms and modest pain relief. At the same time, online programming can improve the ability of pain psychoeducation programs and ACT-CP to reach patients. The proposed project will compare online Veteran ACT for Chronic Pain (VACT-CP) compared to another pain program, Online Pain School, to evaluate how they assist Veterans with chronic pain to improve their functioning, pain management, and quality of life.

Conditions

Chronic Pain

Study ID

NCT06058624

Start date

Jul 31, 2024

Status verified date

Jun, 2026

Completion date

Oct 31, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

May 1, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Current diagnosis of non-cancer chronic pain, defined by:

  • 1a at least one pain-related diagnosis indicated by an ICD-9 or -10 code related to either Musculoskeletal pain or Joint Problems/Osteoarthritis
  • 1b. minimum Grade 1 or 2 on the Graded Chronic Pain Scale
  • Has a computer and working, high-speed wireless internet connection at home
  • Competent to provide written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Any current or lifetime DSM-5 psychotic disorder
  • Current or recent (within 1 month of study entry) DSM-5 substance use disorder
  • Current use of any other chronic pain-related psychological treatment
  • Clinically significant suicidality within the past year
  • Any cognitive or physical impairment that would interfere with study participation of using a computer and providing feedback

Study Design

Enrollment

240 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Veteran ACT for Chronic Pain (VACT-CP)

Participants will complete seven modules (each approximately 15 minutes) over seven weeks. The purpose of VACT-CP is to assist with at home therapeutic and behavioral self-management of chronic pain, based on the principles of acceptance and commitment therapy. Following the end of treatment (7 weeks), participants will complete post-treatment surveys at Week 7, Month 3, and Month 6 to provide feedback and information regarding 1) the intervention and 2) the potential impact of the intervention on functioning, quality of life, and other mental and physical health factors.

active comparator: Online Pain School

Participants will complete seven modules (each approximately 15 minutes) over seven weeks. Online Pain School is designed to balance for time participating in the intervention, and is also an active online attention control. The goal of this program will be to provide Veterans with more tools and options for pain management, and the online format will allow us to monitor website use/dose. Following the end of treatment (7 weeks), participants will complete post-treatment surveys at Week 7, Month 3, and Month 6 to provide feedback and information regarding 1) the intervention and 2) the potential impact of the intervention on functioning, quality of life, and other mental and physical health factors.

Interventions

Veteran ACT for Chronic Pain (VACT-CP)

Participants receive 7 online modules, provided as weekly sessions that feature Coach Anne as a virtual, animated treatment guide. All content is presented interactively, through text-based conversations with Coach Anne. Veterans will hear what Coach Anne "says" and respond to her using text-based dialogue options that will trigger different responses from Coach Anne as the conversation progresses, to allow the system to responsively interact in a personalized manner with the Veteran. Veterans will also be presented with videos (e.g., Veteran narratives, metaphors), in-module assessments (e.g., values assessments), and interactive opportunities for goal setting.

Online Pain School

Participants will receive 7 modules (15 to 20 minutes each) of content based on a common non-ACT based VA treatment option, Pain School. The adaptation used for this study, "Online Pain School", will support Veterans' self-management of their chronic pain by providing informational videos on chronic pain and its health impacts, short behavioral exercises to help with pain management, and psychoeducation on different wellness techniques for their "pain management toolbox."

Primary outcome measure

  • Brief Pain Inventory Change [ Time Frame: Week 7, 3-Month Follow-Up, 6 Month Follow-Up ]
  • Veteran's RAND 36 Item Health Survey (VR-36) Change [ Time Frame: Week 7, 3-Month Follow-Up, 6 Month Follow-Up ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Erin D Reilly, PhD

(781) 687-4191Erin.Reilly@va.gov

Caitlin M Girouard, MA BA

(781) 687-4192Caitlin.Girouard@va.gov

Locations

VA North Texas Health Care System Dallas VA Medical Center, Dallas, TX

Recruiting

Dallas, Texas, United States, 75216-7167

Contacts

Bella Etingen, PhD

708-202-8387bella.etingen@va.gov

More Information

Sponsor

VA Office of Research and Development

Last update posted

Jul 2, 2026

Last verified

Jun, 2026

Keywords

  • Chronic Pain
  • Internet-Based Intervention
  • Psychosocial Intervention
  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
  • Quality of Life
  • Veterans

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by VA Office of Research and Development on 2026-07-02.