# Back Pain Consortium (BACPAC) Research Program Data Integration, Algorithm Development and Operations Management Center

> **NIH NIH U24** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2021 · $416,385

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Chronic low back pain (cLBP) affects over 10% of adults in the US, contributing to significant disability,
substantial health care costs, and increasing the risk of opioid addiction or overdose for those suffering with
cLBP. The NIH Back Pain Consortium (BACPAC), a key component of the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-
TermSM (HEAL) Initiative, is comprised of leading centers with expertise in the pathogenesis and treatment of
cLBP. The Back Pain Consortium was assembled to advance understanding of the mechanisms that underlie
cLBP as well as to identify novel treatments and treatment strategies for cLBP. Currently, there are a number of
evidence-based treatments for low back pain that have been demonstrated to have modest effect sizes on
average, but there is a dearth of guidance for clinicians regarding which treatments are best studied for specific
patients based on the patient's own phenotypic characteristics. Accordingly, BACPAC is undertaking a large,
multi-site, sequential, multiple assignment randomized trial (SMART) that will use existing and novel
technologies to phenotype individuals experiencing cLBP. The primary objective of this trial is to estimate optimal
precision medicine algorithms (i.e., dynamic treatment regimes) to assist clinicians in making treatment
recommendations for future patients. The trial will evaluate a complementary set of treatments, including physical
therapy, medication (duloxetine), enhanced self-care, and acceptance and commitment therapy, each of which
may be used alone or to augment an existing treatment plan.
Having racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity of participants enrolled in this trial is crucial to our ability to
learn optimal treatment strategies for individual patients and to ensure that what is learned is applicable to all
individuals living with cLBP in the United States (US). This project aims to comprehensively address the
challenges of recruiting and retaining a diverse population of cLBP patients that is reflective of the population of
individuals who live with cLBP in the US. Through development of comprehensive recruitment and retention
plans for strategically chosen study sites that have the capability to recruit from underrepresented populations
(e.g., Black and Hispanic populations), and by providing dedicated financial resources to engage patients from
these populations using tailored, culturally appropriate strategies, this first-in-kind precision medicine trial can
provide unique insight into how we can better treat all cLBP patients, including those from racially and ethnically
diverse backgrounds that have historically been excluded from clinical research.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10400459
- **Project number:** 3U24AR076730-01S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Kevin J Anstrom
- **Activity code:** U24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $416,385
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-09-26 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10400459

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10400459, Back Pain Consortium (BACPAC) Research Program Data Integration, Algorithm Development and Operations Management Center (3U24AR076730-01S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10400459. Licensed CC0.

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