Project Grant R01AT013474

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health awarded Vanderbilt University Medical Center $624,778 on August 31, 2026, under the Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health program (CFDA 93.213) to conduct a multicenter feasibility clinical trial evaluating integrative health coaching for chronic low back pain in emergency department patients after discharge.

The trial will test a randomized controlled design across multiple sites to assess whether remote integrative health coaching—a self-management intervention tailored to individual patients and combining evidence-based complementary and conventional strategies—can improve pain-related outcomes and reduce opioid use and return ED visits among patients with acute exacerbation of chronic low back pain. Current practice shows that up to 60 percent of ED patients with acute chronic low back pain are prescribed opioids, yet fewer than 5 percent receive evidence-based biopsychosocial interventions to promote self-management after discharge. The research team will apply preliminary single-site trial experience and existing ED research infrastructure to address the evidence gap on health coaching as a post-discharge ED treatment option.

Work will be performed in Forest Hills, Tennessee, with a period of performance running from August 31, 2026, through July 31, 2029. The award is classified as a Project Grant under the NIH assistance type structure and represents the first budget period obligation to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which serves as the prime recipient.