Gamified Web-Delivered Attentional Bias Modification Training for Adults With Chronic Pain: Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial
Gamified Web-Delivered Attentional Bias Modification Training for Adults With Chronic Pain: Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial
Blog Article
BackgroundAttentional bias to pain-related information has been implicated in pain chronicity.To date, research investigating attentional bias modification training (ABMT) procedures in people with chronic pain has found variable success, perhaps because training paradigms are typically repetitive and monotonous, which could negatively affect engagement and adherence.Increasing engagement through the gamification (ie, the use of game elements) of ABMT may provide the opportunity to overcome some of these barriers.However, ABMT studies applied to the chronic pain field have not yet incorporated gamification elements.
ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the effects of a gamified web-delivered ABMT intervention in a sample of adults with chronic pain via a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.MethodsA final sample of 129 adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain, recruited from clinical (hospital outpatient waiting list) and nonclinical (wider community) read more settings, were included in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 3-arm trial.Participants were randomly assigned to complete 6 web-based sessions of nongamified standard ABMT (n=43), gamified ABMT (n=41), or a control condition (nongamified sham ABMT; n=45) over a period laguna 3hp dust collector of 3 weeks.Active ABMT conditions trained attention away from pain-related words.
The gamified task included a combination of 5 game elements.Participant outcomes were assessed before training, during training, immediately after training, and at 1-month follow-up.Primary outcomes included self-reported and behavioral engagement, pain intensity, and pain interference.Secondary outcomes included anxiety, depression, cognitive biases, and perceived improvement.
ResultsResults of the linear mixed model analyses suggest that across all conditions, there was an overall small to medium decline in self-reported task-related engagement between sessions 1 and 2 (P.05).ConclusionsThese findings suggest that gamification, in this context, was not effective at enhancing engagement, and they do not support the widespread clinical use of web-delivered ABMT in treating individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain.The implications of these findings are discussed, and future directions for research are suggested.
Trial RegistrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) ACTRN12620000803998; https://anzctr.org.au/ACTRN12620000803998.aspx International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)RR2-10.
2196/32359.