Co-creating and evaluating an online self-help treatment (iSelf-help) for people with persistent pain

The 12-week group-based online-intervention (iSelf-help) will be delivered via an online smartphone application and a password-protected website. iSelf-help: The iSelf-help has been co-designed with patients with persistent pain and Maori living with persistent pain and their whanau to ensure cultural appropriateness. The iSelf-help consists of 12 online modules similar to in-person pain management programme (PMP). The 12 modules of iSelf-help are: 0) Welcome to Pain management programme, 1) Exercise, 2) Sensory nervous system, 3) Stress response, 4) Think, feel, do, 5) Memory of pain, 6) Taking charge, 7) Thinking and doing skills, 8) Medication, 9) Sleep, 10) Making plans with pain, 11) Sharing the journey, 12) Pulling it all together Resources: Each module consists of a short introductory video (30s), educational video by a pain management clinician (5mins), videos of patient stories sharing their experiences of managing pain and associated symptoms relevant to the module, relaxation podcasts and additional resources such as animations, illustrated texts and links of additional resources. Each module of iSelf-help will be made available to the participants at the beginning of each week. Participants are asked to use these resources at their own time. In addition, the iSelf-help arm with 8 to 12 participants/group at baseline will receive two, 60-minute sessions weekly for 12 weeks. One 60-minute session/week will be delivered via an online self-management platform by a dedicated pain management clinician (physiotherapist) of our research team. Each session comprises education (30mins), advice on guided exercises (15mins) and relaxation techniques (15mins). Education sessions are likely to focus on knowledge and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy-based self-management skills (e.g. pain education, activity pacing, relaxation, and distraction techniques) similar to in-person PMP. Participants are asked to attend the first session and any of the 5 sessions from the remaining 11 weeks. Later in the same week, the second 60-minute session is likely to be an interactive online closed-group discussion moderated by a health coach (e.g. a trained volunteer from patient advisory group). The group discussion will focus on self-reflection, goal setting, and the sharing of experiences with peers about what went well, and what did not, over the week and developing peer support network. Participants are asked to attend these discussions at their own discretion. Peer interaction: The community page of iSelf-help will provide opportunities for peer-interaction throughout the 12-week period. Acommunity manager (personnel with a health background) will monitor the page for safety of posts shared by participants. Tracking: There will be opportunites for participants to track their exercise, mood level and thought diaries with reminders and nudges to encourage continued use of iSelf-help through the 12-week period.