Interactive Voice Response-Based Self-management for Chronic Back Pain: The COPES Noninferiority Randomized Trial.

Importance: Recommendations for chronic pain treatment emphasize multimodal approaches, including nonpharmacologic interventions to enhance self-management. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based treatment that facilitates management of chronic pain and improves outcomes, but access barriers persist. Cognitive behavioral therapy delivery assisted by health technology can obviate the need for in-person visits, but the effectiveness of this alternative to standard therapy is unknown.

Cooperative pain education and self-management (COPES): study design and protocol of a randomized non-inferiority trial of an interactive voice response-based self-management intervention for chronic low back pain.

Background: The Institute of Medicine report "Relieving Pain in America" recommends the promotion of patient self-management of pain for all people with pain. Given the high prevalence of chronic pain in the US, new strategies are needed to enhance access to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and other evidence-based treatments designed to facilitate self-management of chronic pain conditions. Although CBT is efficacious, many patients have limited or no access to CBT.