The following is a summary of “Evaluating the feasibility of delivering a pain management programme for adults living with sickle cell disease,” published in the August 2023 issue of Pain by McLoughlin et al.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is characterized by pain, and pain management programmes (PMPs) are needed, but more evidence is needed on their feasibility and effectiveness. Researchers started a retrospective study to explore the feasibility of delivering a sickle cell pain management programme (SCPMP) for adults within a hemoglobinopathies service.

They assessed the feasibility of delivering the SCPMP at one study site. The primary feasibility outcomes included recruitment (number of participants recruited), completion of treatment and outcome measures (number of participants completing treatment and outcome measures), satisfaction (participant satisfaction rate), credibility (credibility rating), and acceptability (acceptability rating) to participants. Secondary feasibility outcomes encompassed treatment outcomes and processes, vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) frequency, and healthcare utilization.

The results showed 4/5 feasibility criteria. Annual SCPMP recruitment fell short at only 8 participants, but 29 individuals began the program. Among them, 25 (86.2%) participants attended at least 5 out of 8 sessions, and 21 (84%) program completers responded to all end-of-program questionnaires. The satisfaction and credibility questions yielded mean scores exceeding 7 on ten-point scales. Pre-post SCPMP measures indicated at least a moderate effect size (Hedges g>0.5) in pain interference, anxiety, depression, self-efficacy, pain-related worry, and acceptance. A small effect size (Hedges g 0.4) was observed in HRQoL. SCPMP attendance may reduce VOC frequency and hospital admissions.

They concluded that a sickle cell pain management program is feasible and acceptable, and further research is needed to investigate barriers to recruitment.

Source: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20494637231202744