Both mindfulness meditation and expectancy effects are known to reduce pain intensity, pain unpleasantness and pain catastrophizing, but it is unknown whether and how expectancy effects contribute to the overall effect of mindfulness meditation on these outcomes, especially during significant global events such as the coronavirus pandemic. This study includes four interrelated aims that will probe these effects and interactions.
As many as 1 in 4 Australians experience chronic pain. Further, it is yet unknown the effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on Australians with or at risk of chronic pain. There is a critical need for the development and evaluation of fast-acting non-pharmaceutical treatments that have the capacity to target the multidimensional nature of chronic pain. This study will investigate how mindfulness meditation and common expectancy effects interact and will further characterise the mechanisms underlying these effects. Results will ultimately lead to targeted interventions that more effectively engage cognitive mechanisms associated with pain attenuation.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Enrollment
373
Participants will complete a single session of 20-minutes online guided audio-delivered training session of one of the four conditions.
Health and Behavioural Sciences
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Pain intensity
Assessed via a numerical rating scale (0=no pain, 10=most intense pain imaginable)
Time frame: 40 minutes
Pain Unpleasantness
assessed via a numerical rating scale (0=no pain, 10=most unpleasant pain imaginable)
Time frame: 40 minutes
Pain Catastrophizing
assessed via the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS; 0=no catastrophizing, 52=highest catastrophizing, 30+=clinically significant catastrophizing)
Time frame: 40 minutes
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