The efficacy of mobile health interventions used to manage acute or chronic pain: A systematic review

Abstract

Chronic pain is a significant health issue that affects approximately 50 million adults in the United States. Traditional interventions are not always an effective treatment strategy for pain control. However, the wide adoption of smartphones and the rapid growth of health information technologies over the past decade have created opportunities to use mobile health (mHealth) applications (apps) for pain tracking and self-management. In this PRISMA-compliant systematic review, we assessed the current U.S.-based research on pain-related mHealth apps to describe the app components and determine the efficacy of these interventions for persons with acute or chronic pain. We conducted a comprehensive search of five databases based on methodological guidelines from the Joanna Briggs Institute. We included articles reporting original data on mHealth interventions with pain intensity as a primary or secondary outcome and excluded articles that utilized multimodal interventions. Of the original 4959 articles, only five studies met the eligibility criteria. Most of the interventions included feasibility or pilot studies, and all studies were published between 2015 and 2018. Two of the five studies used visual analog scales. Only two of the studies reported statistically significant pain intensity outcomes, and considerable heterogeneity between the studies limited our ability to generalize findings or conduct a meta-analysis. Research investigating the components and efficacy of pain-related mHealth apps as interventions is an emerging field. To better understand the potential clinical benefits of mHealth apps designed to manage pain, further research is needed.

Contrasting the Expectations and Experiences Related to Mobile Health Use for Chronic Pain: Questionnaire Study

“…Smartphones are currently the most popular platform for mHealth delivery [ 8 ]. Recent explorations have also started to investigate mHealth for pain management [ 9 ]. A preliminary study proposed that mHealth self-management methods, such as mobile apps, could manage chronic pains, such as CLBP, better than only physiotherapy [ 10 ], especially since the beginning of 2020 when COVID-19 has globally become prevalent and its impact might last until 2025 [ 11 ].…”

Differences in Palliative Care Delivery Among Adults With Cancer and With Terminal Noncancer Illness in Their Last Year of Life

“…While the use of technology in chronic pain management interventions has increased in recent years, the literature is still limited, heterogenous, and provides limited evidence on the efficacy of eHealth/digital interventions, let alone which specific modalities are most effective. [4][5][6][7][8][9] This study adds to the literature as a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of a personcentered intervention for individuals with CWP delivered with digital eHealth support compared with standard telephone follow-up. Results showed no significant difference in the primary outcome of pain intensity and nearly all secondary outcomes between the intervention group (supported by the digital platform) and the active control group (supported by a follow-up phone call).…”

An Interactive Pain Application (MServ) Improves Postoperative Pain Management

“…mHealth represents a burgeoning field for pain management, allowing patients to access pain advice and interact with their healthcare teams. Importantly, few apps have either engaged healthcare expertise in their development, been rigorously tested to assess pain outcomes, or been shown to be beneficial in the management of pain [23][24][25].…”

“…Two recent systematic reviews assessing the efficacy of apps in pain outcomes found that studies were too heterogeneous to draw appropriate combined conclusions [23,26]. urnheer and colleagues did conclude however that apps may improve pain intensity and quality of life [26].…”