Date of Award

5-2020

Document Type

Campus Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Counseling

First Advisor

Laura A. Hayden

Second Advisor

Steven Vannoy

Third Advisor

Dharma E. Cortes

Abstract

Chronic pain is a common health problem in the United States, and it is associated with numerous physical and mental health issues. Disparities in pain treatment are high for particular populations, including Latinos who comprise a significant percent of the U.S. population. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate an online health education intervention for Latinas with chronic pain. The intervention was developed in Spanish based on a biopsychosocial approach to treatment and targeted multiple critical domains including exercise, psychological wellbeing, regaining function, emotional wellbeing, sleep hygiene, and stress management. Through a mixed-method, single-arm design, this pilot study examined patients’ and providers’ acceptability of and satisfaction with the intervention, as well as the impact of the intervention on patients’ knowledge, chronic pain self-efficacy, pain severity, and pain interference (measured pre and post intervention). Both chronic pain patient (n=40) and provider participants (n=10) reported high rates of participation, and high ratings for website features and website content. Patient participants also experienced a significant increase in knowledge regarding pain management and treatment options, and in chronic pain self-efficacy, as well as a significant decrease in pain interference. Although means for pain severity were lower at the post-test session, this change was not significant. Overall, results indicate that an online educational intervention that targets Spanish-speaking Latinas with chronic pain is feasible, potentially impactful, and that there is a need for such interventions. Recommendations include additional content and interactive features that could improve satisfaction, engagement, and impact.

Comments

Free and open access to this Campus Access Dissertation is made available to the UMass Boston community by ScholarWorks at UMass Boston. Those not on campus and those without a UMass Boston campus username and password may gain access to this dissertation through resources like Proquest Dissertations & Theses Global or through Interlibrary Loan. If you have a UMass Boston campus username and password and would like to download this work from off-campus, click on the "Off-Campus UMass Boston Users" link above.

Download
Off-Campus UMass Boston Users

Share

COinS