Using Technology to Track Pain and Pain-related Outcomes

July 10, 2026 updated by: Johns Hopkins University
Persistent pain is a public health epidemic. The current protocol seeks to develop technology to aid patients' tracking of patients' pain, medications and pain-related variables. The investigators seek to talk with patients in co-investigator's clinic to solicit feedback, as well as pilot test the technology with pain patients.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Chronic pain affects over 100 million Americans, costs the US over $630 billion annually, and reduces quality of life. It is among the most clinically challenging and financially burdensome conditions facing clinicians and healthcare organizations. Sleep disturbance is common in chronic pain conditions with some studies reporting a prevalence as high as 70%-88%. Psychiatric disorders, including substance abuse and mood disorders are prevalent in chronic pain and are associated with impairment and decreased quality of life. Sleep is increasingly recognized as a critical regulator of mental health. Taken together, epidemiological, cross-sectional, and prospective studies support the hypothesis that insomnia, chronic pain, and depression are mutually interacting, each increasing the risk for the emergence and/or exacerbation of the other. The gold standard of chronic pain management is multidisciplinary pain treatment (MPT), but patients rarely receive MPT secondary to limited access and a severe shortage of pain management specialists. Thus, there is an urgent need for empirically supported, cost-effective multidisciplinary pain self-management options that are accessible to patients and trusted by primary and tertiary care providers. To address this problem, the investigators' group in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Technology Innovation Center (TIC) has developed a mobile chronic pain, medication and symptom tracking digital technology platform designed to eventually support multidisciplinary pain treatment by enhancing patient-provider communication and delivering comprehensive, personalized, interactive evidence-based pain management strategies. The investigators' App (version 1.3) is currently able to collect self-report data (i.e., pain; sleep; mood; catastrophizing; stress; pain flares) and continuous, passively collected wearable biosensor data (i.e., heart rate; breathing; sleep; heart rate variability/stress). The investigators propose a prospective, observational proof of concept study to demonstrate feasibility and adherence while establishing the psychometric properties of a mobile pain App and to compare these data with passively collected physiological data and laboratory indices of pain in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP).

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
100

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21224
        • Recruiting
        • Behavioral Medicine Research Lab
        • Contact:
          • Katie Dunnock
          • Phone Number: 410-550-6165
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Luis Buenaver, PhD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

21 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP).

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • ≥ 21 years of age
  • Pain duration > 3 months
  • Average pain level of >3 out of 10 (0=no pain; 10=worst pain imaginable)
  • English fluency
  • Are not scheduled to undergo any medical procedures during the course of the study
  • Have a physician-confirmed medical diagnosis associated with chronic pain
  • Are willing to comply with the study protocol and give written informed consent. Patients taking non-narcotic analgesics must be on a stable dose one month prior to participation.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Delirium, dementia, or cognitive impairment (i.e., Mini Mental State Exam score <24)
  • Unstable major psychiatric disorder or history of schizophrenia
  • Beck Depression Inventory score >30 or report of suicidal ideation
  • Active substance abuse;
  • Refusal to provide access to relevant medical record information.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Navio App
The investigators propose to collect self-report and passively collected biological data and evaluate participants' relation to clinical and laboratory pain as well as patients' willingness to use and level of comfort with the mobile pain management digital platform and wearable biosensors. Eligible participants will be consented, given two biosensors (i.e., Apple Watch Series 1 with KardiaBand; Spire), a sleep monitoring device (actigraph watch), and a mobile app enabled smartphone, then trained on how to use the app (and device if appropriate) and biosensors. Participants will keep medications constant and not have any new pain treatment procedures over the course of the study period and 2 weeks prior to starting the study.
Other: Navio Mobile App
Participants will use the Navio Mobile App to track participants' pain and pain treatment

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Patterns of self-reported clinical Pain
Time Frame: Up to 2 weeks
Patients will complete twice-daily, electronic (i.e. via mobile app) numerical pain rating scales through Navio App.
Up to 2 weeks
Patterns of Pain Catastrophizing
Time Frame: Up to 2 weeks
Patients will complete twice-daily, electronic (i.e. via mobile app) pain catastrophizing questions through Navio App.
Up to 2 weeks
Patterns of Positive Mood
Time Frame: Up to 2 weeks
Patients will complete twice-daily, electronic (i.e. via mobile app) positive mood questions through Navio App.
Up to 2 weeks
Patterns of Negative Mood
Time Frame: Up to 2 weeks
Patients will complete twice-daily, electronic (i.e. via mobile app) negative mood questions through Navio App.
Up to 2 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Patient Adherence as assessed by completion of questionnaire on the app
Time Frame: Up to 2 weeks
Daily and weekly patterns of electronic (i.e. mobile app) questionnaire completion will be assessed to determine compliance with the use of the app.
Up to 2 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Johns Hopkins University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
PainCare, LLC

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Luis F Buenaver, Ph. D, Johns Hopkins University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
August 10, 2020

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 30, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 11, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 11, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 13, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 13, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 10, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IRB00196831

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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