NL
DE
Mindfulness-based interventions have a positive impact on pain and well-being in patients with chronic noncancer pain and in patients with (prescription) opioid misuse. However, in a recent study, many patients experienced barriers to participate in such a training, showing that this intervention needs to be adapted to the patients needs. The study team now investigates whether an online training is more feasible.
This study focused on patients with chronic pain who developed prescription opioid addiction, and who received treatment at the inpatient clinic of the Department of Psychiatry at Radboudumc.
The research team hypothesized that a mindfulness-based intervention would be a suitable add-on treatment for these patients after their inpatient stay. It was thought that mindfulness skills could support patients with dealing with chronic pain and craving for opioids. Other studies have indeed shown that mindfulness can help patients to allow negative experiences, including pain and mood symptoms, and replace automatic reactions, including opioid use, by conscious and more helpful responses.
Patients were offered an 8-week mindfulness training at the Centre of Mindfulness at Radboudumc. Patients were then, regardless whether they participated or not, interviewed on the feasibility and effectiveness of the mindfulness intervention. Those that did participate reported improvements in wellbeing and in coping with pain and craving. However, the majority of patients experienced too many barriers to participate in the mindfulness training. Barriers included having too much pain, fatigue, not wanting to be in a group, and practical difficulties like travel distance.
This study shows the importance of designing interventions adapted to barriers that patients experience. Taking such barriers into account can help providing effective treatments to patients with treatment needs, so that these interventions can be implemented in clinical practice in a sustainable and accessible way. To address these barriers, the study team is now assessing whether an online, individual, self-paced training may be more suitable.
Read the study here
Ellerbroek, H., Hanssen, I., Lathouwers, K., Cillessen, L., Dekkers, S., Veldman, S. E., van den Heuvel, S. A. S., Speckens, A. E. M., & Schellekens, A. F. A. (2023). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for chronic noncancer pain and prescription opioid use disorder: A qualitative pilot study of its feasibility and the perceived process of change. Brain and Behavior, 00, e3005. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.3005
