# Optimizing Response to Chronic Pain Treatments in Veterans: Identifying Key Moderators

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2024 · $79,242

## Abstract

Project Summary
Chronic pain is a prevalent, disabling problem affecting as many as 50% of men and 75% of women Veterans.
There is widespread recognition of the importance of developing effective complementary and integrative
health (CIH) treatments and the need to optimize their effectiveness. The CIH pain treatment with the most
empirical support is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). However, not everyone benefits from CBT. Prior
research has shown that two CIH interventions, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Hypnotic
Cognitive Therapy (HYP-CT), are beneficial and offer alternatives to CBT and have similar efficacy. However,
as with CBT, individual response to these treatments also varies considerably. Our preliminary data suggests
the variability in treatment outcome may be due to important baseline patient differences. This suggests the
possibility that patients can be effectively “matched” to the treatments they are most likely to benefit from,
based on information that can be obtained before treatment starts. Research is needed to develop patient-
treatment matching algorithms that could match a given individual to the evidence-based treatment most likely
to be beneficial given their unique individual profile. The overall aim of the proposed study is to address this
need by identifying patient factors that determine who benefits most from two CIH treatments and the current
gold standard non-pharmacological treatment (CBT), relative to usual care. This aim will be addressed using a
clinical trial in which participants will be randomized to one of the four treatment conditions. We will test
hypotheses – developed from both theory and prior pilot research – that pre-treatment brain activity patterns,
hypnotizability, catastrophizing, and mindfulness moderate pre- to post-treatment improvements in pain
intensity associated with group-delivered CBT, MBCT, and HYP-CT, relative to usual care, in Veterans with
chronic pain. The findings will provide the foundation for building an algorithm to support personalized care,
whereby Veterans can be offered the treatment that will be most beneficial for them. This study will also help
develop knowledge about potentially powerful alternatives to pharmacological/opioid analgesic approaches.
Finally, the study findings will be useful to health care providers and their patients to facilitate shared decision-
making.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11096304
- **Project number:** 3R01AT011012-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Mark P Jensen
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $79,242
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-09-15 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11096304

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11096304, Optimizing Response to Chronic Pain Treatments in Veterans: Identifying Key Moderators (3R01AT011012-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11096304. Licensed CC0.

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