# Developing an Online Therapeutic Intervention for Chronic Pain in Veterans

> **NIH VA IK2** · EDITH NOURSE  ROGERS MEMORIAL VETERANS HOSPITAL · 2021 · —

## Abstract

Chronic pain is a serious concern that disproportionately affects Veterans compared
to the general public; Veterans are diagnosed with CP at particularly high rates (47 – 56%)
with a 40% greater rate of severe pain than non-Veterans. Veterans with chronic pain face
numerous negative functional outcomes, including decreased ability to complete daily work
activities, less social support from and closeness with family members, increased chronic
health conditions (e.g., cancer, heart disease), and higher mortality compared to Veterans
without chronic pain. Given these concerns, there is an urgent need for innovative and
integrative approaches for non-medical pain self-management management. Despite the
critical importance of effective pain self-management programs, many Veterans with CP do
not engage in pain self-management programs. In order to improve Veterans’ quality of life,
it is important to develop and evaluate innovative, accessible, evidence-based interventions
for managing CP.
 One approach with over twenty years of efficacious treatment for chronic pain is
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Chronic Pain (ACT-CP). ACT is a well-established
VA-approved approach to chronic pain management, and focuses on committing to
behavior change that reflects personal values, leading to significant improvement in life
functioning. ACT- CP is associated with substantial improvements in social/work
functioning and decreased pain-related medical visits, as long as three years following
treatment. For adults with chronic pain, technology-assisted ACT treatment leads to
reduced self-reported pain levels and improved health via changes in value-aligned
behaviors and mindfulness. The use of interactive technology-assisted ACT treatment is
acceptable and efficacious; however, no ACT for chronic pain online treatment exists for
Veterans.
 We thus propose a three-phase development, intervention usability and feasibility,
and RCT pilot to create a virtual ACT intervention for CP (VACT-CP) for Veterans. VACT-CP
will utilize a personalized, social interface to address pain-related distress and functional
difficulties of chronic pain (e.g., avoidance, reactivity), using an online Embodied
Conversational Agent (ECA) that will walk Veterans through eight weeks of treatment.
Studies suggest that the use of such ECAs can increase online-treatment motivation and
feedback, resulting in increased treatment compliance and utilization, physical functioning
(e.g., increased physical activity and diet fidelity), and client-goal achievement. The primary
outcomes for this project will be to (1) develop the VACT-CP user system using feedback
from mental health and other clinical professionals treating chronic pain (n = 10), (2) pilot
the usability and feasibility of the through iterative usability development and Veteran
feedback (n = 12 - 15), and (3) explore the impact of the VACT-CP system in terms of user-
experience, functional outcome improvement, and quality of life meas...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10025189
- **Project number:** 5IK2RX002814-03
- **Recipient organization:** EDITH NOURSE  ROGERS MEMORIAL VETERANS HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Erin Reilly
- **Activity code:** IK2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-10-01 → 2023-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10025189

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10025189, Developing an Online Therapeutic Intervention for Chronic Pain in Veterans (5IK2RX002814-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10025189. Licensed CC0.

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