# COPC Administrative Supplement to Group-Based Mindfulness for Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain in the Primary Care

> **NIH NIH UH3** · BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER · 2022 · $591,905

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Chronic pain is one of the most common conditions treated in the primary care setting, with chronic low back
pain (cLBP) costing over 30 billion dollars a year; yet treatment remains unsatisfactory for many patients.
Chronic pain is commonly defined by anatomic location; however, the underlying mechanisms of chronic pain
conditions may be more closely related to the central sensitization of pain processing with significant overlap
existing among chronic pain syndromes. The term Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions (COPCs) refers to
commonly coexisting or co-prevalent idiopathic pain conditions, and cLBP is one of the conditions identified as
a COPC. Other examples include fibromyalgia and chronic migraine. It is estimated that among people with
chronic low back pain, two-thirds have additional COPCs. Although COPCs are common, risk factors and
protective mechanisms are not well characterized. This study will use a tool called the Chronic Overlapping
Pain Conditions screener to identify people with COPCs among participants enrolled in the OPTIMUM study
(Optimizing Pain Treatment in Medical settings Using Mindfulness). The first aim of this study is to measure the
prevalence and risks factors associated with Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions in our study sample. The
second aim is to identify how the response to the OPTIMUM intervention differs between people with isolated
cLBP and those with additional COPCs. The third aim is to explore the experiences of study participants with
COPCs from historically marginalized populations. The OPTIMUM study is a pragmatic clinical trial of
mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) adapted to address chronic pain and delivered via telemedicine in
a primary care setting as group medical visits. The OPTIMUM study is recruiting people with cLBP from three
primary care health settings that together provide for a racially and ethnically diverse study population. Given
the “real life” setting of the OPTIMUM study, we expect findings to be highly relevant across multiple primary
care settings including urban and rural safety net organizations. Additional findings regarding the prevalence
and demographics of COPCs, the response of participants with COPCs to the OPTIMUM intervention, and the
interviews with people with COPCs from historically marginalized populations, will advance knowledge about
the characteristics and potential treatments for COPCs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10521941
- **Project number:** 3UH3AT010621-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Natalia E. Morone
- **Activity code:** UH3 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $591,905
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2022-09-06 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10521941

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10521941, COPC Administrative Supplement to Group-Based Mindfulness for Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain in the Primary Care (3UH3AT010621-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10521941. Licensed CC0.

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