Development of a Personalized Feedback Intervention Targeting Pain-Related Anxiety for Adults Reporting Hazardous Drinking and Chronic Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Individuals with chronic pain are more likely to engage in hazardous alcohol use compared to the general population. Despite this increased risk, they are an underserved group regarding targeted interventions. There is a pressing need to explore and develop alternative strategies to effectively reduce hazardous drinking in this vulnerable population. One promising approach is to focus on managing pain-related anxiety, which is a potential mechanism linked to hazardous drinking.

Researchers adopted a phased model (1A/1B) to address this need to create and test a new personalized feedback intervention (PFI). In the initial phase (Phase 1A), qualitative feedback was gathered from nine participants (mostly female, with an average age of 33.86 years) to fine-tune the content of the intervention and assess its acceptability and feasibility. Building on this, Phase 1B involved a pilot randomized clinical trial with 118 participants (mostly male, average age of 35.24 years). This trial compared the newly developed PFI against a standard health information control to measure its impact on alcohol use, motivation to reduce drinking, pain-related anxiety, and expectations around alcohol’s effects on pain management.

The findings from Phase 1A indicated that using a PFI to address pain-related anxiety was both feasible and acceptable to participants. In Phase 1B, results showed that participants who received the intervention reduced their drinking, and the targeted outcomes shifted as anticipated. However, there were no significant differences between the intervention and control groups, suggesting that further adjustments to the intervention are necessary.

Overall, the study provides initial support for the potential of brief, computer-based interventions to promote behaviour change among hazardous drinkers with chronic pain. However, refining the intervention to address pain-related anxiety better could enhance its effectiveness in the future.