Taygar, Afra Selma, Bartels, Sara Laureen, de la Vega, Rocío et al. · JMIR formative research · 2025 · DOI
This study asked patients with chronic pain and therapists what they wanted in a digital app to help manage their pain. Researchers created fictional patient profiles, held focus groups to understand needs, and then tested a prototype app with real patients. The final 6-week app included flexible features like short sessions, easy navigation, and different ways to contact a therapist. Patients found it helpful and easy to use.
ME/CFS patients often experience comorbid chronic pain and face barriers to accessing behavioral pain management due to post-exertional malaise and limited healthcare availability. This study's emphasis on digital accessibility, asynchronous contact options, and flexible dose (microsessions) directly addresses common constraints for severely ill ME/CFS patients. The inclusion of chronic fatigue syndrome in the diverse pain cohort suggests relevance to ME/CFS populations.
This study does not demonstrate the efficacy of the digital intervention for reducing pain, improving function, or preventing post-exertional malaise; it only establishes acceptability and usability. The study does not compare this intervention to standard care or placebo, and the small pilot sample (n=11) cannot support generalizable effectiveness claims. Long-term outcomes and adherence rates remain unknown.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Taygar, Afra Selma, Bartels, Sara Laureen, de la Vega, Rocío, Flink, Ida, Engman, Linnéa, Petersson, Suzanne, et al. (2025). User-Driven Development of a Digital Behavioral Intervention for Chronic Pain: Multimethod Multiphase Study.. JMIR formative research. https://doi.org/10.2196/74064
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-taygar-2025-user-driven,
author = {Taygar, Afra Selma and Bartels, Sara Laureen and de la Vega, Rocío and Flink, Ida and Engman, Linnéa and Petersson, Suzanne and Johnsson, Sophie I and Boersma, Katja and McCracken, Lance M and Wicksell, Rikard K},
title = {User-Driven Development of a Digital Behavioral Intervention for Chronic Pain: Multimethod Multiphase Study.},
journal = {JMIR formative research},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.2196/74064},
note = {PubMed: 40627437},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/taygar-2025-user-driven},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/taygar-2025-user-driven
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