• Fenan S Rassu, Elena Staguhn, Scott Ravyts, Renan Castillo, Shelley A Wiechman, Tricia Kirkhart, Rachel V Aaron, Amy Acton, Linda Ware, Stephen M Milner, Leigh Ann Price, James A Fauerbach, Jennifer A Haythornthwaite, and Stephen T Wegener.
• Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: frassu1@jh.edu.
• Burns. 2024 Dec 3; 51 (2): 107336107336.

AbstractThis randomized controlled trial investigated the effectiveness of an online self-management program, "Take Charge of Burn Pain (TCBP)," for 96 individuals living with chronic burn pain. Participants were randomly assigned to either the 7-week TCBP program integrating cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques, pain education, and self-management strategies or an attention control group focused on general burn recovery information. Assessments conducted at baseline, post-treatment, and 2- and 5-month follow-ups included measures of pain severity, pain interference, pain self-efficacy, posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, and depression. Compared to the control group, participants in the TCBP program demonstrated greater reductions in pain severity (mean difference: -1.24, 95 % CI: -1.93 to -0.55, p = 0.0007) and pain catastrophizing (mean difference: -5.41, 95 % CI: -10.33 to -0.49, p = 0.0318) post-treatment when adjusting for key variables. At the two-month follow-up, the TCBP group showed significant improvements in pain interference (P = 0.0123), self-efficacy (P = 0.0269), functional abilities (P = 0.0014), and social role participation (P = 0.0498) compared to the control group. Treatment effects were not sustained at 5-month follow-up. Participants in both groups reported high levels of satisfaction with the online intervention, with the majority finding the program helpful and easy to use, and being willing to recommend it to others with pain. Findings suggest preliminary support for short-term benefits of TCBP for managing certain facets of chronic burn pain. This underscores the need to refine digital approaches to maintain and promote long-term improvements. The potential of self-guided online psychological interventions to enhance pain coping strategies for burn survivors persists.Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd and International Society of Burns Injuries. All rights reserved.

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