• Marian Wilson, Myles Finlay, Michael Orr, Celestina Barbosa-Leiker, Naghmana Sherazi, Mary Lee A Roberts, Matthew Layton, and John M Roll.
• College of Nursing, Washington State University, Spokane, WA, USA; Program of Excellence in Addictions Research, Washington State University, Spokane, WA, USA. Electronic address: marian.wilson@wsu.edu.
• Addict Behav. 2018 Nov 1; 86: 130-137.

IntroductionPersistent pain has been recognized as an important motivator that can lead individuals to misuse opioids. New approaches are needed to test pain treatments that can improve outcomes for people with persistent pain in medication-assisted behavioral treatment for opioid use disorder. This study piloted an online pain self-management program to explore acceptability and treatment effects.MethodsA sample of 60 adults diagnosed with chronic non-cancer pain and receiving medication-assisted behavioral treatment at one of two clinics were randomized into either treatment group with access to an online pain management program or waitlist attention control. Participants received online surveys via email at baseline and post-treatment at week 8.ResultsThe majority of participants (n = 44; 73%) reported that their first use of opioids was in response to a painful event. Those who engaged in the online program had significantly lower pain interference, pain severity, opioid misuse measures, and depressive symptoms after eight weeks while pain self-efficacy was increased.ConclusionOur results suggest the online pain self-management program content may be helpful for managing physical and emotional symptoms experienced by individuals with co-occurring pain and opioid use disorders. To improve online engagement, more support is necessary to assist with technology access and completion of online activities.Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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