A randomised controlled trial of an internationally-available, self-guided, online pain management program for adults

In this randomised controlled trial, all participants will receive access to an 8 week internet-delivered, self-guided education course, the Pain Course, which teaches participants how to manage chronic pain, anxiety, and low mood. All participants will have experienced chronic pain for longer than 6 months. The Pain Course comprises 5 online lessons, which provide information about evidence-based, cognitive behavioural strategies for managing pain, anxiety and depression. One lesson will be completed every 7 to 10 days. Each lesson will take about 20 minutes to read. Participants will also have access to summaries of each lesson, and will read anonymous stories about other people with chronic pain, depression, and anxiety, taking a further 20 minutes per week. All participants will receive automatic emails to promote adherence and engagement. Specifically, participants will receive an automatic email: a) from the Clinic Director in the first week of the course to thank them for their participation; b) each time a new lesson becomes available; c) when they complete a lesson; d) if they have not started a given lesson within 7 days (i.e. a reminder email); e) in Week 4, to inform them that slight increases in symptoms at that point are not uncommon; f) in week 7 to encourage them to complete any remaining lessons by the end of week 8; g) in week 8 to remind them it is the last week and of the post-treatment questionnaires. As the receipt of some of these emails is contingent upon a participant’s activity (e.g. not completing a course within 7 days), the exact number of emails received will vary between participant. However, each will receive between 10 and 20 automatic emails over the duration of the course. Participants in this research trial will be randomly allocated to an Active Treatment Group or a Waitlist Control Group. Participants in the Active Treatment Group will receive full access to the Pain Course. The Waitlist Control Group will receive the same treatment after the Active Treatment Group has completed the 8-week Course. Participants will be asked to complete standardised questionnaire measures at 4 main time points: Initial application, pre-treatment, mid-treatment, and post-treatment. Participants will also complete brief standardised questionnaire measures of anxiety and depression weekly throughout the Course. The strategy used to monitor adherence to the intervention will be online monitoring of lessons completed (i.e., completion is logged online once the participant clicks through all the slides of the lesson).