Results
vulvodynia, joint-related pain, SD, pain
VULVODYNIA
There was a statistically significant difference between groups regarding contact with a physiotherapist before enrollment in the study, mostly due to muscle- and joint-related pain, with the intervention group reporting having contact with a physiotherapist more often than the control group (Participant characteristics.***After the internet-based treatment, 79% (n = 34) of the participants in the intervention group and 90% (n = 37) of the participants in the control group received clinical treatment (The mean total number of visits to healthcare due to provoked vulvodynia after the internet-based treatment did not differ between groups (mean intervention group = 5.77, mean control group = 6.78) (Table Contact with healthcare due to provoked vulvodynia.*Mann–Whitney’s test for categorized data.Visits to a midwife for clinical treatment.The groups did not differ statistically in mean treatment length (mean intervention group: 9.47 (SD = 7.33), mean control group: 11.22 (SD = 11.01) (Fig. Clinical treatment length after the internet-based treatment.There was no statistically significant difference between groups regarding health-related quality of life (EQ5-D-3L) or QALYs at any timepoint (U (n intervention = 33, n control = 30) = 398.50, z = − 1.34, Differences between groups measured with EQ5-D index and QALYs.The mean difference in clinical treatment costs across groups without the internet-based treatment was 27.06 €, where the mean cost for clinical treatment for the intervention group was 154.79 € (SD = 150.65 €) and that for the control group was 181.85 € (SD = 133.83 €). When adding the costs for the internet-based treatment, the mean difference between groups in costs was 23.47 €, with the intervention group presenting the higher cost. There was no statistically significant difference between groups regarding costs related to clinical treatment even when costs for the internet-based treatment were added to costs for the clinical treatment (Tables Costs for the internet intervention per patient based on salary per hour and time per patient.Costs for clinical treatment.Mean costs for provoked vulvodynia treatment.No statistically significant differences between groups regarding RCI were found for CPAQ-R total scale or the subscales activity engagement and pain willingness at any timepoint (Table Percentage of clinical meaningful change measured with reliable change index (RCI) for CPAQ-R.In the cost-effectiveness analysis, it was estimated that a clinical meaningful change in pain acceptance can be achieved at a cost of a cost of 260.77 € in expectancy.