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Pain Management Study

Nonpharmacological Approach to Chronic Pain Management

Our study, “Personalized Auricular Point Acupressure for Chronic Pain Self-Management in Rural Populations (UH3AT012728),” is a large-scale, pragmatic, randomized controlled trial testing a nonpharmaceutical pain intervention for chronic musculoskeletal pain for patients in rural areas of Texas and South Carolina. 

This will be a large, hybrid implementation-effectiveness clinical trial that engages and collaborates with rural partners, including health care clinics, community organizations, and community health workers. We will be employing two key interventions that are supported by evidence in the literature (pain education/self-management and auricular point acupressure).


What is auricular point acupressure?

Auricular point acupressure (APA) is based on the acupuncture microsystem involving the stimulation of standardized points on the ear that correspond to body parts in pain. Nurse scientists at Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston are exploring APA as a nonpharmaceutical, self-managed, and cost-effective pain management alternative.

Professor Jennifer Kawi, PhD, MSN, FNP-BC, CNE, FAAN, is leading a study to test the effectiveness of APA, leveraging technology with a smartphone app, that enables patients in rural communities to self-administer auricular point acupressure.

Join our study

We are currently recruiting adult patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain from the rural communities.

 

What you need to know about APA:

  • Based on evidence for managing pain and function
  • No known adverse effects or interaction with other treatments
  • Does not interfere with current treatments
  • Additional tool for successful pain management
  • Accessible anytime
  • No cost to you
  • Noninvasive – no needles, no injections
  • No pills
  • Comes with a free app. App does not track personally identifiable information
  • Incentive for participation

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Eligibility:

You may be eligible if you are 18-85 years of age, living in a rural area, and are one of the following:

  • An individual with chronic musculoskeletal pain (back pain, neck pain, and joint pains: shoulder, hands, hips, knee, feet)
  • Have pain of 4 or greater on a scale of 0-10 that has persisted for at least 3 months or at least half of the days in the past 6 months

We ask participants to commit seven months to this study. The research is provided at no cost. Eligible participants will be compensated for participating in the research study. 

If you are interested in learning more about our research study, please call us at 713-500-2214 or email [email protected].

The study, “Personalized Auricular Point Acupressure for Chronic Pain Self-Management in Rural Populations,” (4UH3AT012728-02) is funded by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). The award is part of the Helping to End Addiction Long-term® (HEAL) Initiative of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).