Support, Training, and Education for Pain Self-Management Using Podcasts: A Pilot Trial (STEP-UP)

A Feasibility Study of a Chronic Pain Self-management Intervention for Older Adults Incorporating Podcasts and Patient Priorities

This randomized Stage 1 pilot trial tests the feasibility of a community health worker (CHW) delivered chronic pain self-management intervention for older adults ("STEP-UP"; Support, Training, and Education for Pain Self-Management - Using Podcasts) in a primary care setting. A total of 40 participants aged 50+ with high-impact chronic pain will be randomized to intervention or control groups. The STEP-UP intervention will feature an educational podcast series teaching core pain self-management skills. Podcasts will be supplemented by sessions with a Community Health Worker taking place at designated times over a 7-week period. The Community Health Worker will guide participants in a modified Patient Priorities of Care approach to help them identify their values and priorities and develop goals that reflect these.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Chronic Pain
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: STEP-UP

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Michigan
    • Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109
      • University of Michigan

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age > 50 years
• Have a mobile or landline phone
• Report high-impact chronic musculoskeletal pain (defined as pain in muscles or joints for > 3 months "most days" or "every day" on a scale of never, some days, most days, or every day) AND their pain limited life or work activities over the past 3 months "most days" or "every day"
• Have not participated in another chronic pain self-management intervention in the last 5 years.
• Able to converse comfortably in English

Exclusion Criteria:

• Serious acute illness or hospitalization in the last month;
• Planned major surgery in the next three months that would interfere with program participation (e.g., knee or hip replacement)
• Severe cognitive impairment or other severe physical or psychiatric disorder judged by the study team to pose a significant barrier to participation

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: STEP-UP intervention group; Participants will engage in a behavioral intervention for pain self-management that incorporates educational podcasts and sessions with a community health worker.	Behavioral: STEP-UP; The STEP-UP chronic pain self-management intervention (Support, Training, and Education for Pain Self-Management - Using Podcasts) will feature an educational podcast series teaching core pain self-management skills. Podcasts will be supplemented by sessions with a Community Health Worker taking place at designated times over a 7-week period. The Community Health Worker will guide participants in a modified Patient Priorities of Care (PPC) approach to help them identify their values and priorities and develop goals that reflect these.; Other Names: Support, Training, and Education for Pain self-management, Using Podcasts
No Intervention: Control group; Members of the control group will not initially receive the STEP-UP intervention. After completing the 8-week follow-up telephone survey, individuals in the control group will be invited to take part in the STEP-UP intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Pain Interference 6-item Subscale From PROMIS-43 Adult Profile	Items ask how much pain in the last 7 days has interfered with daily activities such as household chores and social activities (1=not at all to 5=very much); raw total scale scores range from 6 (low interference) to 30 (high interference). Scores are converted to a standardized T-score metric, with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10 in a referent population. A higher score means more of the concept being measured. Change scores are calculated as [8 week score] - [baseline score]; therefore, a greater negative value means a greater reduction in pain interference.	Baseline, 8 weeks from baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Global Impression of Change in Pain	How participant thinks their pain has changed from baseline (much worse (-3) to much better(+3)).	8 weeks from baseline
Global Impression of Change in Functioning	How participant thinks their functioning has changed from baseline (much worse (-3) to much better(+3)).	8 weeks from baseline
Participant Satisfaction	Items ask about overall satisfaction with the program, e.g., whether participation increased understanding of pain management (1= Strongly Disagree to 5= Strongly Agree). A higher score indicates higher patient satisfaction.	8 weeks from baseline
Engagement as Measured by Number of Sessions Completed	Number of sessions out of 6 completed 8 weeks from baseline	8 weeks from baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Michigan
• Collaborators: National Institute on Aging (NIA); Weill Medical College of Cornell University; Western Wayne Family Health Centers

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 2, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 29, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): January 29, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 14, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 14, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): December 29, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 26, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 7, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Chronic Pain; Therapeutics; Patient Care; Health Services; Health Care Facilities Workforce and Services; Socioeconomic Factors; Population Characteristics; Palliative Care; Educational Status
• Other Study ID Numbers: HUM00240183; 5P30AG022845-20 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No