Could a smartphone app help people track and understand chronic pain?
NCT ID NCT07680894
First seen Jul 02, 2026 · Last updated Sep 04, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study tests a mobile app called DockTales, designed for adults with chronic pain. The app lets users track pain and sleep through short diaries, body maps, and journaling, with an optional AI feature for reflection. Researchers want to see if the app is easy to use and engaging compared to standard monitoring. The study is fully remote and involves 60 participants.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- DockTales mobile app
- What this could lead to
- If successful, DockTales could become a widely used tool to help people with chronic pain better understand and manage their symptoms.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early feasibility study with only 60 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The app is not designed to provide medical advice or replace professional care.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 60 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Jul 2027
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Oct 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 88 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Age ( 18-88 years old) * English speaker (written and spoken) * Chronic pain for at least 3 months * Smartphone/text messaging capability Exclusion Criteria: * Any personal history of mania, schizophrenia, or other psychoses * Severe psychiatric condition (e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, autism) leading to hospitalization within the last 3 years. * Pregnancy or breast feeding * Impaired or uncorrected hearing
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Maryland Baltimore School of Nursing
Baltimore, Maryland, 21201, United States
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