ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT07818980ADOPTCanVetsUpdated Sep 28, 2026

Co-Adaptation of an Digital Pain Management Program for Canadian Veterans

An observational study in Chronic Pain and Veterans, sponsored by University Health Network, Toronto. Recruiting at 1 site in Canada. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-28.

Sponsored by University Health Network, Toronto · Observational

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Sep 2026; still recruiting 1 month later.
Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
22
Ages
18 Years to 80 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The goal of this study is to gather feedback from Canadian Veterans living with chronic pain, and clinicians serving Canadian Veterans, on an existing digital psychology program for self-management of chronic pain delivered through the Manage My Pain app. This feedback will be used to adapt the program for the needs and experiences of Canadian Veterans.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • How acceptable, feasible, and engaging is the existing digital psychology program for Canadian Veterans living with chronic pain?
  • What changes are needed to make the program more relevant and appropriate for Canadian Veterans living with chronic pain?

Participants will:

  • Use the self-guided digital psychology program over a two-week period and complete questionnaires about the program's acceptability and feasibility. Veteran participants will also complete questionnaires about their pain and pain history.
  • Take part in a 30- to 45-minute virtual interview to provide feedback about the program and recommendations for its adaptation.

The study does not include a comparison group.

Read the detailed description

Chronic pain affects approximately 30% to 50% of Canadian Veterans, many of whom experience barriers to accessing interprofessional pain services, particularly when transitioning from military to civilian healthcare. Digital health interventions may help address gaps in care by providing accessible, evidence-based self-management support while Veterans await services or alongside their existing clinical care. However, these interventions must be adapted to reflect Veterans' needs and experiences, including military culture, values and language, pain- and mental health-related stigma, experiences of trauma, and challenges navigating the civilian healthcare system. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based psychological intervention that can improve pain-related functioning, pain acceptance, and quality of life among people living with chronic pain, including Veterans. The current study will support the co-adaptation of an existing self-guided digital ACT intervention delivered through the Manage My Pain mobile health platform. Canadian Veterans living with chronic pain and clinicians experienced in providing evidence-based pain psychology interventions to Veterans will use the existing program and provide feedback through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Their feedback will inform modifications to the program's content, language, format, and delivery to create Advancing Online Pain Psychology Tools for Canadian Veterans (ADOPT-CanVets). The adapted program will subsequently be ready for evaluation in a feasibility trial. Once evaluated, ADOPT-CanVets may provide a scalable approach to increasing Canadian Veterans' access to evidence-based psychological support for chronic pain.

02

Conditions studied

  • Chronic Pain
  • Veterans

Keywords

  • Canadian Veterans
  • Chronic pain
  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
  • ACT
  • Digital health intervention
  • Digital psychology intervention
  • Pain self-management
  • Mobile health
  • eHealth
  • Manage My Pain
  • Co-adaptation
  • Patient engagement
  • Veterans' health
  • Pain psychology
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Mindfulness
  • Internet-based Intervention
03

In context

Chronic Pain

3,227 studies on the registry are indexed under Chronic Pain; 729 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 22 is below the median of 120 across 753 observational studies indexed under Chronic Pain.

Browse Chronic Pain studies →

Lead sponsor

University Health Network, Toronto is the lead sponsor of 1,438 studies on the registry; 297 are open to participants now.

Of its 17 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 3 (18%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 80 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

The study population will include two groups recruited in Canada: adult Canadian Armed Forces Veterans living with chronic pain for at least 3 months and healthcare providers experienced in delivering evidence-based pain psychology interventions to Canadian Veterans. Veterans will be recruited through Canadian Veteran organizations, social media, and existing lists of individuals who have expressed interest in research. Clinicians will be recruited through professional networks using snowball sampling.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria (Veterans):

  • Veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces who report having chronic pain (pain for 3 months or longer).
  • Have access to a device that can connect to the Internet.

Inclusion Criteria (Clinicians):

  • Healthcare providers actively practicing in Canada.
  • Healthcare providers delivering evidence-based psychology interventions to Canadian Veterans (e.g., clinical psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers, counselors)
  • Have access to a device that can connect to the Internet.

Exclusion Criteria (Veterans):

  • Individuals with a known history of serious mental illness (e.g., psychosis and/or active mania).
  • Individuals who have limited comprehension of English or comprehension deficits due to dementia.
  • Individuals with physical or cognitive impairments that prevent effective engagement with an online intervention (e.g., serious uncorrected visual or hearing impairment).

Exclusion Criteria (Clinicians):

- Healthcare providers who have limited comprehension of English

05

Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
22 participants (estimated)
Target follow-up
2 Months
Patient registry
Yes

Groups and cohorts

  • Canadian Veterans

    Adult Canadian Veterans living with chronic pain for at least 3 months. Participants will use the existing self-guided digital Acceptance and Commitment Therapy program through the Manage My Pain app over 2 weeks. They will then complete questionnaires assessing program acceptability, and feasibility, pain and pain history, as well as a semi-structured interview about their experiences with the program and recommended adaptations.

    Other: Self-Guided Digital Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Program

  • Clinicians Serving Canadian Veterans

    Canadian healthcare providers experienced in delivering evidence-based pain psychology interventions to Veterans. Participants will use the existing self-guided digital Acceptance and Commitment Therapy program through the Manage My Pain app over 2 weeks. They will then complete questionnaires assessing program acceptability and feasibility and participate in a semi-structured interview about recommended adaptations for Canadian Veterans.

    Other: Self-Guided Digital Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Program

Interventions

  • OtherSelf-Guided Digital Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Program

    A self-guided digital psychology program based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and delivered through the Manage My Pain app. The program includes interactive psychoeducation about chronic pain and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, recognition of pain-related avoidance, clarification of personal values, identification of meaningful actions, strategies for making room for difficult experiences, and flexible persistence in meaningful activities.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Program Usage and Engagement as assessed by Manage My Pain Platform Usage Analytics

    Manage My Pain platform usage analytics will be used to assess engagement with the self-guided digital psychology program. Engagement metrics will include module access dates, time spent in each module, and the total number of modules completed by each participant. A greater number of completed modules will indicate greater program engagement.

    Time frame: Participants will have their usage analytics tracked from access to the self-guided program to completion of the program, an average of 2 weeks.

  2. Program Acceptability as assessed by the Treatment Evaluation Inventory-Short Form

    Program acceptability will be assessed using the 9-item Treatment Evaluation Inventory-Short Form (TEI-SF). Items are rated on a 5-point scale and summed to produce a total score ranging from 9 to 45. Higher scores indicate greater acceptability.

    Time frame: Participants will be sent a link to fill out the measure within 1 week of completing the program.

  3. Program Feasibility as assessed by the Feasibility Survey

    Participants' perceptions of program feasibility, acceptability, usability, and connection to the program will be assessed using a 13-item survey. Items are rated on a 7-point scale and may be examined individually or averaged to produce a mean score ranging from 1 to 7. The survey also includes an open-ended feedback question.

    Time frame: Participants will be sent a link to fill out the measure within 1 week of completing the program.

  4. Retrospective Semi-structured Interview

    A 30- to 45-minute semi-structured interview will explore participants' experiences with the existing program and their recommendations for adapting its content, language, format, and delivery for Canadian Veterans.

    Time frame: Participants will be sent an invitation for an interview within 1 week after completing the survey questions.

Other outcomes

  1. Pain Intensity as assessed by the PROMIS Pain Intensity-Short Form 3a - Veteran Participants Only

    Pain intensity among Veteran participants will be assessed using the 3-item Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pain Intensity-Short Form 3a. The measure assesses pain at its worst, average pain, and current pain. Responses will be scored according to PROMIS scoring guidelines, with higher scores indicating greater pain intensity.

    Time frame: Participants will be sent a link to fill out the measure within 1 week of completing the program.

  2. Pain Interference as assessed by the PROMIS Pain Interference-Short Form 4a - Veteran Participants Only

    Pain interference among Veteran participants will be assessed using the 4-item Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pain Interference-Short Form 4a. The measure assesses pain interference in daily activities and social interactions. Responses will be scored according to PROMIS scoring guidelines, with higher scores indicating greater pain interference.

    Time frame: Participants will be sent a link to fill out the measure within 1 week of completing the program.

  3. Chronic Pain History as assessed by the Chronic Pain History Questionnaire - Veteran Participants Only

    Chronic pain history among Veteran participants will be characterized using a 4-item self-report questionnaire assessing the duration and frequency of ongoing pain and the type of pain condition experienced. Responses will be summarized descriptively.

    Time frame: Participants will be sent a link to fill out the measure within 1 week of completing the program.

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • Department of Anesthesia and Pain Management, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network
    Toronto, Ontario M5G 2N2, Canada
    Recruiting
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Christo EM. Novel Applications of Virtual Communities in Healthcare Settings: Chapter 4: Manage My Pain. IGI Global; 2017. 271.
  • Development & Usability of a Scalable Digital Psychology Intervention for Chronic Postsurgical Pain - IASP [Internet]. https://posters.worldcongress2024.org/. [cited 2025 Jun 24]. Available from: https://posters.worldcongress2024.org/poster/development-usability-of-a-scalable-digital-psychology-intervention-for-chronic-postsurgical-pain/
  • Canadian Pain Task Force Report: March 2021 [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2025 Jun 23]. Available from: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/corporate/about-health-canada/public-engagement/external-advisory-bodies/canadian-pain-task-force/report-2021.html
  • Qureshi AR, Patel M, Neumark S, Wang L, Couban RJ, Sadeghirad B, Bengizi A, Busse JW. Prevalence of chronic non-cancer pain among military veterans: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. BMJ Mil Health. 2025 Jul 23;171(4):310-314. doi: 10.1136/military-2023-002554. PubMed 38124087 ↗
  • Becker WC, Dorflinger L, Edmond SN, Islam L, Heapy AA, Fraenkel L. Barriers and facilitators to use of non-pharmacological treatments in chronic pain. BMC Fam Pract. 2017 Mar 20;18(1):41. doi: 10.1186/s12875-017-0608-2. PubMed 28320337 ↗
  • Simmonds MJ, Finley EP, Vale S, Pugh MJ, Turner BJ. A qualitative study of veterans on long-term opioid analgesics: barriers and facilitators to multimodality pain management. Pain Med. 2015 Apr;16(4):726-32. doi: 10.1111/pme.12626. Epub 2014 Dec 19. PubMed 25528887 ↗
  • Ul Haq MZ, Ashoorion V, Xi CE, Wang E, Ross N, Parakh N, Busse JW, Darzi AJ, Alvarez E. Canadian Veterans' Experiences of Living with Chronic Pain: A Descriptive Qualitative Study. Can J Pain. 2024 Jun 10;8(2):2361006. doi: 10.1080/24740527.2024.2361006. eCollection 2024. PubMed 39253291 ↗
  • King AC, Zahrai A, Bisson EJ, Shergill Y, Rice D, Wai E, Nedden NZ, Cooper L, James D, Rash JA, Bosma R, Ramsay T, Poulin P. Implementation-effectiveness of the power over pain portal for patients awaiting a tertiary care consultation for chronic pain: A pilot feasibility study. Digit Health. 2025 Mar 17;11:20552076251326229. doi: 10.1177/20552076251326229. eCollection 2025 Jan-Dec. PubMed 40103642 ↗
  • Thurnheer SE, Gravestock I, Pichierri G, Steurer J, Burgstaller JM. Benefits of Mobile Apps in Pain Management: Systematic Review. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2018 Oct 22;6(10):e11231. doi: 10.2196/11231. PubMed 30348633 ↗
  • Pearson R, Carl E, Creech SK. Computerized Psychological Interventions in Veterans and Service Members: Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. J Med Internet Res. 2022 Jun 3;24(6):e30065. doi: 10.2196/30065. PubMed 35657663 ↗
  • Kroll-Desrosiers A, Finley EP, Hamilton AB, Cabassa LJ. Evidence-Based Intervention Adaptations Within the Veterans Health Administration: a Scoping Review. J Gen Intern Med. 2023 Aug;38(10):2383-2395. doi: 10.1007/s11606-023-08218-z. Epub 2023 May 30. PubMed 37254009 ↗
  • Bhatia A, Kara J, Janmohamed T, Prabhu A, Lebovic G, Katz J, Clarke H. User Engagement and Clinical Impact of the Manage My Pain App in Patients With Chronic Pain: A Real-World, Multi-site Trial. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2021 Mar 4;9(3):e26528. doi: 10.2196/26528. PubMed 33661130 ↗
  • Slepian PM, Peng M, Janmohamed T, Kotteeswaran Y, Manoo V, Blades AM, Fiorellino J, Katznelson R, Tamir D, McRae K, Kahn M, Huang A, Kona S, Thaker S, Weinrib A, Katz J, Clarke H. Engagement with Manage My Pain mobile health application among patients at the Transitional Pain Service. Digit Health. 2020 Oct 13;6:2055207620962297. doi: 10.1177/2055207620962297. eCollection 2020 Jan-Dec. PubMed 33117557 ↗
  • Scott W, McCracken LM. Psychological flexibility, acceptance and commitment therapy, and chronic pain. Curr Opin Psychol. 2015 Apr 1;2:91-6.
  • Wang JQ, Wang XZ, Wang WX. Acceptance and commitment therapy for enhancing mental health in military personnel: A comprehensive review and meta-analysis. World J Psychiatry. 2025 Mar 19;15(3):100959. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i3.100959. eCollection 2025 Mar 19. PubMed 40110015 ↗
  • Donahue ML, Fruge JE, Andresen FJ, Twohig MP. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) among U.S. veterans: A systematic review. J Context Behav Sci. 2024 Apr 1;32:100731.
  • Hennink M, Kaiser BN. Sample sizes for saturation in qualitative research: A systematic review of empirical tests. Soc Sci Med. 2022 Jan;292:114523. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114523. Epub 2021 Nov 2. PubMed 34785096 ↗
  • Bell ML, Whitehead AL, Julious SA. Guidance for using pilot studies to inform the design of intervention trials with continuous outcomes. Clin Epidemiol. 2018 Jan 18;10:153-157. doi: 10.2147/CLEP.S146397. eCollection 2018. PubMed 29403314 ↗
  • Whitehead AL, Julious SA, Cooper CL, Campbell MJ. Estimating the sample size for a pilot randomised trial to minimise the overall trial sample size for the external pilot and main trial for a continuous outcome variable. Stat Methods Med Res. 2016 Jun;25(3):1057-73. doi: 10.1177/0962280215588241. Epub 2015 Jun 19. PubMed 26092476 ↗
  • Damschroder LJ, Reardon CM, Widerquist MAO, Lowery J. The updated Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research based on user feedback. Implement Sci. 2022 Oct 29;17(1):75. doi: 10.1186/s13012-022-01245-0. PubMed 36309746 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Updates

1 registry update since Sep 25, 2026
Minor edits
Nothing that changes what the study is or who can join. Edited: date precision
1 update, last Sep 28, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Sep 28, 2026
    Minor edits only
    + 1 other change: date precision

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07818980
Collaborators
Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Sep 14, 2026
Start date
Sep 14, 2026
Primary completion
Sep 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Sep 30, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 28, 2026

Study contacts

Hance A Clarke, MD, PhD
Contact
hance.clarke@uhn.ca
416-340-4800 ext. 4251
Peter M Slepian, PhD
Contact
maxwell.slepian@uhn.ca
Hance Clarke, MD, PhD
principal investigator · University Health Network, Toronto

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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