RESEARCHERS have demonstrated that the STOMP behavioural pain self-management intervention significantly reduces pain severity and the impact of pain on function in people with HIV. There is a high prevalence of chronic pain in people with HIV, yet there is a lack of efficacious interventions tailored to this patient population. Researchers therefore evaluated the efficacy of a behavioural pain self-management intervention called Skills to Manage Pain (STOMP) in people with HIV.
Between August 2019 to September 2022, 278 adults with HIV who experienced at least moderate chronic pain for 3 months or more were randomised to the STOMP intervention (n=139) or enhanced usual care (EUC), which acted as the control group (n=139). STOMP is a Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)-based behavioural therapy that involves 1-on-1 skill-building sessions delivered by staff interventionists, and group sessions co-led by peer interventionists The control group received the STOMP manual, but without any 1-on-1 or group instructional sessions. Among the participants, the mean (standard deviation [SD]) age was 53.5 (10.0) years; 126 (45.0%) identified as female, 146 (53.0%) identified as male, and 6 (2.0%) identified as transgender female.
Immediately after the intervention, participants who received STOMP demonstrated a significant reduction in Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) summary scores (-1.25 points; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -1.71 to -0.78;p<0.001). Three months after the intervention, the mean difference in BPI total score remained statistically significant, favouring the STOMP intervention (-0.62 points; 95% CI: -1.09 to -0.14 points; p=0.01).
The findings of the study demonstrate that STOMP is an effective intervention for chronic pain in people with HIV. The authors noted that implementation studies will be conducted in the future to optimise integration of the intervention into real-world settings.
Katrina Thornber, EMJ
Reference
Jones KF et al. Efficacy of a pain self-management intervention tailored to people with HIV: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2024; e243071.
