A Pragmatic, Randomized Controlled Trial of a Auricular Point Acupressure - Self-Management (APA-SM) Program for Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Among Rural Populations.
The investigators will test an Auricular Point Acupressure Self-Management (APA-SM) program integrated into rural primary and specialty care and rural communities for chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP). To maximize self-management of pain, the investigators developed a smartphone app which will allow the participants to learn to self-administer APA. The investigators will have 3 arms (APA-SM self-guided with remote training, APA-SM with in-person training, and Education Control) with 231 participants per arm (total=693 for 3 arms). The investigators will evaluate the clinical effectiveness of our 4-week APA-SM intervention compared to control in primary outcomes (pain intensity, pain interference, activity), secondary outcomes (HEAL Clinical Pain Core common data elements), and analgesic use up to 6 months follow-up.
• Receive any pain management for CMP (neck, back, shoulder, hands, hips, knees, feet)
• Have CMP ≥ 4 on a scale of 0-10 that has persisted for at least 3 months or has resulted in pain on at least half the days in the past 6 months