Long-Term Efficacy of a Home-Care Hypnosis Program in Elderly Persons Suffering From Chronic Pain: A 12-Month Follow-Up.

BACKGROUND: Pain is a major public health concern in the aging population. However, medication brings about negative effects that compel healthcare professionals to seek alternative management techniques to alleviate pain. Hypnosis has been recognized as an effective technique to manage pain, but its long-term efficacy has yet to be examined in older adults. AIMS: The aim was to assess the effectiveness, over a 12-month period, of home-care hypnosis in elderly participants suffering from chronic pain. DESIGN: Real-life retrospective one-arm study with a 12-month follow-up. SETTINGS: Elderly Persons Suffering From Chronic Pain enrolled in a clinical health care program that offered home medical follow-up. PARTICIPANTS/SUBJECTS: Fourteen elderly women (mean age 81 years) with chronic pain participated in the home-care hypnosis program. All participants presented chronic pain (≥6 months) with average pain score >4/10. METHODS: Participants took part in seven 15-minute hypnosis sessions within 12 months. The Brief Pain Inventory questionnaire was used to evaluate pain perception and pain interference at baseline and at 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up period. RESULTS: Hypnosis home-care program significantly decreased pain perception and pain interference compared to baseline after 3 months (-29% and -40%, p < .001), and remained lower at 6 (-31% and -54%, p < .001) and 12 (-31% and -47%, p < .001) months. CONCLUSIONS: Seven sessions of 15 minutes allocated throughout a 12-month period produced clinically significant decreases in pain perception and pain interference. Hypnosis could be considered as an optimal additional way for health practitioners to manage chronic pain in an elderly population with long-term efficacy. This study offers a new long-term option to improve chronic pain management at home in elderly populations through a low-cost nonpharmacological intervention.

Hypnosis Program Effectiveness in a 12-week Home Care Intervention To Manage Chronic Pain in Elderly Women: A Pilot Trial.

PURPOSE: As the prevalence of pain increases with age, taking too much medication can lead to negative side effects in elderly patients. While evidence in the literature has shown that clinical hypnosis is effective in an adult population, there are few studies in an aging population and efficacy has never been established in a home care setting. The goal of this study was to determine the effects of a hypnosis program delivered during home care interventions in elderly women during a 12-week period. METHODS: This pilot trial took place from April 2016 to October 2017 at Limoges, France. Fifteen elderly women with chronic pain participated (81 (65-87) years old). All participants presented chronic pain for more than 6 months (inclusion criteria: average pain score >4/10). Participants took part in three 15-min hypnosis sessions separated by four to six weeks. Each hypnosis session was personalized and carried out with induction, pain perception alteration, and post-hypnotic suggestions. Pain perception and pain interference were evaluated with the Brief Pain Inventory questionnaire, and compared between before and after the 12-week hypnosis program. FINDINGS: Hypnosis home care program significantly improved scores on worst (8.9 to 6.7, P < 0.001), average (6.8 to 5.1, P < 0.001), and current pain perception (6.5 to 3.9, P < 0.001), pain interference with physical activity (P < 0.001) and with socio-affective factors (P < 0.01). IMPLICATIONS: Taken together, these findings show that a hypnosis intervention is feasible and effective to manage pain in an elderly population.