Empowered Relief® for Cancer Survivors With Chronic Pain

Feasibility and Preliminary Efficacy of Empowered Relief® for Cancer Survivors With Chronic Pain

This randomized controlled study to examine the efficacy of ER class in cancer survivors with chronic pain. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to a ER class or a waitlist control condition. We will recruit 250 participants with a goal of having 200 completers (20% attrition). Participants in the control condition will be invited to attend ER class after the 3-month observation period.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Pain Catastrophizing; Chronic Pain Due to Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Empowered Relief Course (Zoom)

Detailed Description

The Empowered Relief (ER) study is a Zoom-based, 1-session, 2-hour, skills-based pain management class delivered by certified instructors. Participants learn three core pain relief skills, develop a personalized plan, and receive access to a free binaural audio app for daily use and supportive daily text messages. Participants will fill out a series of follow-up surveys at the 1, 2, and 3-month post-class mark. These surveys will be directly compared to surveys given to participants that do not complete the course. Class admittance will be randomized, however, participants not in the treatment group will have the option to take the course after the 3-month observatory period. ER has demonstrated moderate efficacy in individuals with chronic non-cancer pain, reducing pain intensity, pain interference, pain-related distress (pain catastrophizing), sleep disturbance, and anxiety. Because of its brief, didactic nature and delivery via Zoom, ER can accommodate large class sizes and may address access disparities among underserved cancer survivors. ER is currently being studied across various non-cancer populations and has been adopted as standard of care in leading healthcare institutions in the U.S. and abroad. Yet, Empowered Relief has not been tested in cancer survivors.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 215
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Sophia You, PhD, ABPP; Phone Number: 918-660-3923; Email: Dokyoung-You@ou.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Jordan Keast, BS; Email: jordan-keast@ou.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Oklahoma
    • Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, 74135
      • Recruiting
      • University of Oklahoma Schusterman Center - Tulsa
      • Contact: Jordan Keast, BS; Email: jordan-keast@ou.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

History of cancer diagnosis, completion of active cancer treatment, cancer free at the time of enrollment, experience of body pain most or every day, pain duration at least 3 months, and English fluency.

Exclusion Criteria:

Significant psychological and cognitive impairment that limits one's ability to complete study tasks (completion of online survey, attending the zoom-based ER class). Life-threatening acute illness (e.g., infection, heart attack, injury), and no access to a computer, a smartphone or a tablet.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Empowered Relief; Participants in this arm of the study will complete the one-time 2hr Empowered Relief zoom course. They will also complete a post-course survey as well as the standardized 1, 2, and 3-month follow-up surveys.	Behavioral: Empowered Relief Course (Zoom); This is a one-time 2 hour long skills-based pain management class delivered by certified instructors. Participants learn three core pain relief skills, develop a personalized plan, and receive access to a free binaural audio app for daily use and supportive daily text messages.
No Intervention: Wait-List Control; Participants in the Wait-List Control (WLC) arm will not have initial access to the empowered relief course. Additionally they will not have to complete a post-course survey. The WLC group will be asked to complete the 1, 2, and 3-month follow-up studies after no intervention. After this 3-month observatory period, WLC participants will have voluntary access to the Empowered Relief course.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Overall treatment satisfaction	0-10 scale, higher scores indicate greater satisfaction, mean should be 8 or higher	Immediately after intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Pain Intensity	0-10 scale, higher scores indicate higher pain	1 month after intervention
Pain Interference	T-scores, higher scores indicate higher pain interference	1 month after intervention
Pain Intensity	0-10 Scale, higher scores indicate higher pain	3 months after intervention
Pain Interference	T-scores, higher scores indicate higher pain interference	3 months after intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Oklahoma
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Sophia You, PhD, ABPP, University of Oklahoma

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2029
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 30, 2030

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 28, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 5, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): May 11, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 14, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 11, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Chronic Pain; Cancer survivor; Empowered Relief; Survey Study; Monthly follow-ups; Zoom class
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Chronic Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: 18957P

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

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