STOMP is a 12-week pain self-management intervention designed specifically for people with HIV, incorporating 1-on-1 knowledge- and skill-building sessions (delivered by trained staff) with social support-focused group sessions (co-led by peers and staff).  Previous studies found that participants reported significantly lower pain impact and higher pain self-efficacy immediately after the intervention and at 3-months, compared with enhanced usual care, which involved a staff-led overview of the study treatment manual.  This analysis sought to determine whether STOMP’s impact persisted over a longer, 12-month follow-up period.  244 participants (119 in the intervention group and 125 in the enhanced usual care group) were recruited from two CNICS clinics in Alabama and North Carolina and completed at least one post-intervention assessment to provide data for this analysis.  Average age was 53.6 years, 82.8% of participants identified as Black/African American and 52.5% identified as male.  Data was collected on pain impact (based on the Brief Pain Inventory) and pain self-efficacy (based on the Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire).  Intervention recipients reported significantly lower pain impact scores (although investigators note the magnitude of group differences declined over time) and the intervention group reported higher pain self-efficacy – with stable group differences over time.

Novel interventions which are also effective and safe for addressing chronic pain are greatly needed for people with HIV, as the population ages and develops multiple conditions including chronic pain.  These encouraging results from the STOMP trial highlight that a multi-component, peer-involved self-management intervention can help increase people’s confidence and self-efficacy in managing pain, leading to less day-to-day pain-related impact over a 1-yr period.  Investigators call for future implementation trials to help determine best practices for incorporating the intervention across different care settings and populations.