Abstract
Aim: To explore the overall effectiveness of interdisciplinary intensive outpatient treatment programs in adults with chronic pain. The secondary aim was to examine the effect of the intervention on individual outcome measures including pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, depressive symptoms, quality of life and describe its effect on medication use. Methods: The preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols reporting guidelines were followed in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Results: A total of 13 peer-reviewed studies were included in analysis: one randomized controlled trial and 12 observational studies. Conclusion: Although interdisciplinary intensive outpatient programs for chronic pain have only been examined in a limited number of studies, trends suggest that participation in these programs may improve physical, emotional, social and mental health as measured by quality of life measures, while decreasing pain intensity, pain catastrophizing and depressive symptoms in a population with diverse diagnoses.
Disclaimer
The views and information presented are those of the author and do not represent the official position of the US Army Medical Department Center and School Health Readiness Center of Excellence, the US Army Training and Doctrine Command, or the Departments of Army/Navy/Air Force, Department of Defense or US Government.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
Author’s contributions
BK Bujak conceived the systematic review, performed the literature searches, screening and article reviews, performed the analysis and drafted the manuscript with tables and figures. E Regan performed screening and article reviews, verified analysis and results, formatted forest plots. BK Bujak, E Regan, PF Beattie, S Harrington discussed the results, commented on and contributed to the manuscript.