A Community Health Worker-Led Program for Chronic Pain and Loneliness in Older Adults

Targeting Loneliness in the Context of Chronic Pain Self-Management: An Intervention for Older Adults Living in Rural Areas

The goal of this clinical trial is to test a new community health worker-delivered program (Strengthening COnnections to Overcome Pain, or SCOOP) that teaches strategies for managing chronic pain and loneliness to older adults living in rural areas. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Does participating in SCOOP result in less pain interference with daily life?
2. Does participating in SCOOP result in decreased loneliness?
3. What is the level of participant engagement in SCOOP? Researchers will compare people who have participated in SCOOP with people who have not participated in SCOOP to see if SCOOP is helpful in decreasing pain interference and loneliness.

Participants will:

1. Watch brief videos teaching strategies to manage pain and boost social connections.
2. Engage in up to 7 weekly coaching sessions with a community health worker.
3. Complete two telephone interviews about health, mental health, and functioning: one at baseline, and one 2 months later.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age >= 60 years;
• Have a mobile or landline phone;
• Self-reported chronic musculoskeletal pain (pain in muscles or joints for >= 3 months, >=4 (0-10 scale) average pain level over last week, >=1 day/previous 30 when pain made it difficult to do usual activities);
• Self-reported loneliness (Feeling lonely "some of the time" or more often);
• Able to converse comfortably in English.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Serious acute illness or hospitalization in the last month;
• Planned major surgery in the next three months that would interfere with program participation (e.g., knee or hip replacement);
• Severe cognitive impairment or other severe physical or psychiatric disorder judged by study team to pose a significant barrier to participation.