The Feasibility of the PAINReportIt Guided Relaxation Intervention-INPATIENT

The goal of this research study is to improve the self-management of pain, stress, and cognitive/affective symptoms that may result in adult inpatients with sickle cell disease (SCD) by determining the feasibility of a self-management guided relaxation (GR) stress reduction intervention using a tablet-based mobile device. Currently, opioid analgesics are primarily used to treat SCD pain while self-managed behavioral modalities such as GR, are rarely used, particularly, in inpatient settings. Little is known about the effects or mechanisms of GR on pain, stress, and cognitive/affective symptoms in adults with SCD hospitalized with pain. Emerging evidence from the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis theory offer insights for understanding the mechanisms. Adding GR as a supplement to analgesic therapies will address the dearth of self-management strategies for controlling pain in SCD. GR is a simple and cost-effective non-drug intervention that could reduce pain and stress in inpatients with SCD. GR is an intervention where inpatients with SCD are directed to listen to and view audio-visual recordings while they visualize themselves being immersed in that scenario.