Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government
Veterans Benefits and Health Care About VA Find a VA Location

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR&D Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Nationwide Implementation and Outcomes of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain Over Clinical Video Teleconferencing

Connolly KS, Vanderploeg PS, Kerns RD, Grant C, Sellinger JJ, Godleski L. Nationwide Implementation and Outcomes of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain Over Clinical Video Teleconferencing. Journal of technology in behavioral science. 2017 Nov 2; 3(1):26-31.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions


Abstract:

Use of telehealth technology to provide cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic pain (CBT-CP) is a promising practice given the prevalence of chronic pain and the difficulties in accessing CBT-CP. This paper is the first to describe the successful nationwide delivery of CBT-CP via clinical video teleconferencing (CVT) across a network of 37 sites in 14 states. Two hundred three patients with a variety of pain diagnoses were surveyed using the Pain Outcomes Questionnaire-VA (POQ) immediately before their initial CBT-CP CVT appointment and again at the final treatment appointment. Treatment consisted of an evidence-based CBT-CP protocol disseminated widely in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and delivered over 8-10 1-h individual therapy appointments. Paired sample t tests showed statistically significant improvements in pre-test to post-test scores for pain intensity, activities of daily living, vitality, and negative affect. Effect sizes were moderate, increasing confidence that these improvements were also clinically meaningful. Patients reported high levels of satisfaction on all five satisfaction items. This is the only study reporting results from CBT-CP services provided at such a large number of clinics over thousands of miles. While VHA is uniquely poised to deliver telehealth services across states due to its use of a reliable high-speed CVT network, nationwide electronic medical records system, absence of cross-state licensure restrictions, and capitated payment system; as the healthcare system in the USA moves toward nationwide electronic medical records and implementation of interstate licensing agreements, CVT would have increasing applicability outside of VHA.




Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.