How Does Mindfulness Meditation Buffer the Negative Effects of Pain and Suffering in the COVID-19 World? (Pain Sample)

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Pain, Chronic; Pain, Intractable
• Interventions: Other: Meditation (1 x 20-minute guided audio training)

• Registration Number: NCT04602286
• Lead Sponsor: The University of Queensland

Brief Summary

Both mindfulness meditation and expectancy effects are known to reduce pain intensity, pain unpleasantness and pain catastrophizing, but it is unknown whether and how expectancy effects contribute to the overall effect of mindfulness meditation on these outcomes, especially during significant global events such as the coronavirus pandemic. This study includes four interrelated aims that will probe these effects and interactions.

Detailed Description

As many as 1 in 4 Australians experience chronic pain. Further, it is yet unknown the effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on Australians with or at risk of chronic pain. There is a critical need for the development and evaluation of fast-acting non-pharmaceutical treatments that have the capacity to target the multidimensional nature of chronic pain. This study will investigate how mindfulness meditation and common expectancy effects interact and will further characterise the mechanisms underlying these effects. Results will ultimately lead to targeted interventions that more effectively engage cognitive mechanisms associated with pain attenuation.

Study Timeline

• Status Verified: 2020-10
• Study First Submitted: 2020-10-19
• Study First Submitted QC: 2020-10-22
• Study First Posted: 2020-10-26
• Study Start: 2020-10-28
• Primary Completion: 2021-09-28
• Study Completion: 2021-09-28
• Last Update Submitted: 2023-02-14
• Last Update Posted: 2023-02-17

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 373

Inclusion Criteria

• At least 18 years of age
• Recurrent pain (two or more days in the last month)
• Chronic pain (pain most days in the last three months)
• Able to read and understand English

Exclusion Criteria

• Not experiencing recurrent or chronic pain
• Incomplete or invalid data (response time < 32 minutes, failing attention checks)
• Completing the 20-minute training module in < 18 minutes or > 90 minutes

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Mindfulness meditation	Meditation (1 x 20-minute guided audio training)	"focussed attention" mindfulness meditation technique taught as means to reduce pain intensity and unpleasantness.
Specific sham mindfulness meditation	Meditation (1 x 20-minute guided audio training)	a training session designed to specifically match the real mindfulness training while lacking the proposed active elements of mindfulness training. Delivered as a means to elicit placebo-mediated (but not mindfulness-mediated) reductions in pain intensity and unpleasantness
General sham mindfulness meditation	Meditation (1 x 20-minute guided audio training)	a training session designed to generally match focussed-attention mindfulness meditation while maintaining greater distance from proposed mindfulness mechanisms. Delivered as a means to elicit placebo-mediated (but not mindfulness-mediated) reductions in pain intensity and unpleasantness

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Pain intensity	40 minutes	Assessed via a numerical rating scale (0=no pain, 10=most intense pain imaginable)
Pain Unpleasantness	40 minutes	assessed via a numerical rating scale (0=no pain, 10=most unpleasant pain imaginable)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Pain Catastrophizing	40 minutes	assessed via the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS; 0=no catastrophizing, 52=highest catastrophizing, 30+=clinically significant catastrophizing)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Health and Behavioural Sciences; 🇦🇺 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia