African American patients with osteoarthritis (OA) showed significantly improved pain coping abilities after completing pain Coping Skills Training (CST) according to a report published in the journal Pain.

A clinical trial running from May 2016 to August 2017 studied the effects of the specialized CST on cognitive and behavioral pain interventions among 248 African Americans with OA to alleviate pain and dysfunction. The participants who experienced hip or knee OA were placed in either a control group consisting of 11 weekly sessions or a waitlist control group.

The results showed that the pain levels among those who participated in the CST were significantly reduced and allowed them to do daily life activities with less medication for pain management than the waitlist group.

“We believe these findings support the value of efforts to disseminate pain CST among

African Americans with OA, as a part of overall efforts to mitigate racial disparities in OA-related outcomes,” noted the authors. They recommended that future research explore adherence enhancement and treatment response factors while considering pain CST cost-effectiveness.