DockTales for Chronic Pain

NCT07680894 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: HP-00119506
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study will evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of DockTales, a mobile health tool designed for adults with chronic pain. DockTales supports pain and sleep tracking through brief diaries, body-map pain reporting, reflective journaling, visual summaries, and optional AI-supported interaction. The study will be conducted completely remotely. Participants will complete 2 weeks of DockTales use and 2 weeks of REDCap-based daily monitoring, with the order randomized. The main goal is to determine whether DockTales is usable, acceptable, engaging, and practical for adults with chronic pain compared with standard REDCap monitoring.

Conditions

Chronic Pain; Chronic Pain Syndrome

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (7)

• Enrollment rate

  Enrollment rate: the proportion (%) of recruited participants who enrolled in the study.

  At the enrollment

• Retention rate

  Retention rate: the proportion (%) of enrolled participants who finished the study

  End of Week 4

• Module completion rate

  Module rate: the proportion (%) of completed modules in the DockTales app. The DockTales app contains 1) daily monitoring module; 2) navigation map module; 3) AI avatar companion module; and 4) daily dairy module.

  End of Week 4

• Daily survey completion rate

  Module rate: the proportion (%) of completed daily surveys sent through DockTales and REDCap-based surveys.

  End of Week 4

• Levels of satisfaction

  Levels of satisfaction are assessed using a visual analogue scale ranging from 0 = not satisfied at all to 100 = extremely satisfied.

  End of Week 2 and Week 4

• Levels of enjoyment

  Levels of enjoyment are assessed using a visual analogue scale ranging from 0 = not enjoyed at all to 100 = extremely enjoyed.

  End of Week 2 and Week 4

• Levels of engagement

  Levels of engagement are assessed using a visual analogue scale ranging from 0 = not engaged at all to 100 = extremely engaged.

  End of Week 2 and Week 4

Study Arms (2)

DockTales first

OTHER

This is a crossover-designed study with one arm of chronic pain participants. All participants will complete both active (DockTales) and control (REDCap) interventions in a randomized sequence. The first arm will complete 2 weeks of DockTales first, and 2 weeks of REDCap monitoring

Behavioral: DockTales; Other: REDCap monitoring

REDCap first

OTHER

This is a crossover-designed study. Participants in this arm will start with 2 weeks of REDCap monitoring, followed by 2 weeks of DockTales use

Behavioral: DockTales; Other: REDCap monitoring

Interventions

DockTales BEHAVIORAL

DockTales includes several core features: 1. Brief diary entries 2. Body-map pain reporting/feedback 3. Reflective journaling 4. Optional AI-supported interaction The AI-supported feature is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis, treatment recommendations, mental health care, or emergency support. The focus of the DockTales intervention is to support self-monitoring, reflection, engagement, and user experience among adults with chronic pain.

DockTales first; REDCap first

REDCap monitoring OTHER

REDCap will be used to monitor daily symptoms and diaries from people with chronic pain.

DockTales first; REDCap first

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 88 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Age ( 18-88 years old)
• English speaker (written and spoken)
• Chronic pain for at least 3 months
• Smartphone/text messaging capability

You may not qualify if:

• Any personal history of mania, schizophrenia, or other psychoses
• Severe psychiatric condition (e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, autism) leading to hospitalization within the last 3 years.
• Pregnancy or breast feeding
• Impaired or uncorrected hearing

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Maryland, Baltimore: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Maryland Baltimore School of Nursing

Baltimore, Maryland, 21201, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Chronic Pain

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Central Study Contacts

Yang Wang, PhD

CONTACT

410-706-7824; yang.wang@umaryland.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: Both the experimenter and participants know the interventions (DockTales and REDCap). The outcome assessor will be blinded about the study conditions.
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: All participants will complete 2 weeks of DockTales use and 2 weeks of REDCap standard monitoring.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 15, 2026
• First Posted: July 2, 2026
• Study Start: July 17, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): October 24, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): October 24, 2027
• Last Updated: July 2, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06

Locations

US (1)