The Integrated Healing Program: Outcomes Associated with a New Intensive Interdisciplinary Pain Program (IIPT) for Teens in Wisconsin

The “Integrated Healing Program” was developed through a novel partnership amongst Children’s Wisconsin, Rogers Behavioral Health, and the Medical College of Wisconsin. The purpose of this study was to evaluate patient-reported outcomes associated with this new IIPT program. The Program was designed as a Partial Hospitalization Program with integrated physical therapy and medical support. Participants must be 13-18 years and have a medical condition resulting in functional impairment with a decline in health, physical, and emotional quality of life that is exacerbated by psychological factors. Since program start in 2021, 105 adolescents (12-19 (mean 15.65) years; 84.76% female; 74.29% white; 82.86% not Hispanic) have completed the 4-6 week program. Initial outcomes (self-reported at baseline, weeks 2 and 4, and discharge) include anxiety, depression, functional disability, upper/lower extremity function, pain catastrophizing, and behavioral activation for depression. All outcomes showed significant improvement from baseline to discharge, with percent change ranging from 8.06% (Cohen’s d=0.45) for anxiety to 46.17% (Cohen’s d=1.11) for functional disability. Linear regression models were used to estimate progress over time, with week since admission as the primary predictor for each model. All outcomes showed significant improvement with each additional week of treatment (all p’s ≤0.01). For example, functional disability was estimated to improve 5.1 points on the 0-100 scale with each week of treatment. This new IIPT program based at a mental health facility for youth with chronic pain is an option for treatment-resistant chronic pain. These initial findings show that the program is associated with improvement in outcomes.