Pain
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Review Meta Analysis
The effectiveness of online pain resources for health professionals: a systematic review with subset meta-analysis of educational intervention studies.
Online educational interventions are increasingly developed for health professionals and students, although graduate and undergraduate medical curricula often contain limited information about how to assess and manage pain. This study reviews the literature on the effectiveness of pain-related online educational resources. Studies were identified through a search of Medline, PsychINFO, Web of Science, CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and OpenGrey databases. ⋯ Although online educational resources show promise in improving learner knowledge, considerable heterogeneity exists between studies in quality, design, educational content, and outcomes. Furthermore, methodologically robust RCTs are required to establish the effectiveness of online educational interventions and a greater understanding of the key features of successful online resources, including cognitive interactivity. Few studies assessed health outcomes for patients, remaining a major priority for future investigations.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Computerised training improves cognitive performance in chronic pain: a participant-blinded randomised active-controlled trial with remote supervision.
Chronic pain is associated with reduced efficiency of cognitive performance, and few studies have investigated methods of remediation. We trialled a computerised cognitive training protocol to determine whether it could attenuate cognitive difficulties in a chronic pain sample. Thirty-nine adults with chronic pain (mean age = 43.3, 61.5% females) were randomised to an 8-week online course (3 sessions/week from home) of game-like cognitive training exercises, or an active control involving watching documentary videos. ⋯ This study provides preliminary evidence that supervised cognitive training may be a viable method for enhancing cognitive skills in persons with chronic pain, but transfer to functional and clinical outcomes remains to be demonstrated. Active control results suggest that activities perceived as relaxing or enjoyable contribute to improved perception of well-being. Weekly contact was pivotal to successful program completion.