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Jointly Managing JIA Online: An Internet-based Psycho-educational Game for Children With JIA and Their Parents

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
Interventions
Behavioral: Game
Other: Usual Care
Registration Number
NCT02610166
Lead Sponsor
The Hospital for Sick Children
Brief Summary

Arthritis in children is a long-term illness and it can make a child's life very difficult. In children 8-11 years old, the child and their family work together to deal with the problems that arthritis can cause. Learning to cope with and manage the problems that come with arthritis can stop it from getting worse. It is important to create programs that teach children and families how to cope with and manage arthritis. This study will develop and test an online game that helps children learn how to better manage their arthritis. The goal of these studies is to test: (1) how easy to use and acceptable the online game is; and (2) if children who play the game feel less pain, have fewer limitations, and a better quality of life compared to children who do not play the game.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
112
Inclusion Criteria
  1. Age ≥ 8 and ≤ 11 years of age
  2. Diagnosed with JIA (minimum 3 months) using International League of Associations for Rheumatology classification criteria96
  3. Active disease
  4. Child and primary parent/caregiver are able to speak and read English or French
  5. Participants are willing and able to complete online measures
Exclusion Criteria
  1. Cognitive impairments (as assessed by reviewing medical chart and consultation with the patient's rheumatologist)
  2. Major co-morbid illnesses (e.g., medical [inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, diabetes] or psychiatric [depression, anxiety]) which may impact their ability to understand and use the game or complete outcome assessments (as determined by their rheumatologist).
  3. Children currently participating in other Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) interventions
  4. Usability testing participants

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
GameGameAccess to the game.
Usual CareUsual CareControl group.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Participant Accrual8 weeks

This will be centrally tracked by the clinical research project coordinator (CRPC).

Intervention Fidelity8 weeks

Any issues or difficulties encountered during implementation of the intervention, control strategy, or outcome measures will be tracked throughout the study by the CRPC. For example, issues from a technical standpoint (for example, game not downloading properly, participant requiring assistance using the technology) or logistics standpoint.

Acceptability and Satisfaction with Intervention8 weeks

Immediately post-trial children and parents in the intervention group will rate their acceptability of and satisfaction with the game and 10-15 English and 10-15 French children and one of their parents will take part in a brief qualitative interview.

Engagement with Intervention8 weeks

Analytics will be used to track patterns of website program usage ("number of interactions" \[clicks\]).

Dropout Rates8 weeks

This will be centrally tracked by the clinical research project coordinator (CRPC).

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Pain8 weeks

Measured using the Standardized Universal Pain Evaluations for Rheumatology providers for children and youth (SUPERKIDZ). It consists of 4 domains: pain intensity and location (5 items), fatigue (1 item), pain interference/evaluative dimension (10 items), and affective/emotional dimension (4 items) for children ≥ 8 years (and parent proxy report for children 4-8 years). This measure takes 3 - 5 minutes to complete.

Pain-related Activity Limitations8 weeks

Measured using the Child Activity Limitations Interview (CALI-21). This is a 21-item self-report scale divided into (i) active (e.g. gym, sports) and (ii) routine (e.g., schoolwork, reading) activity subscales.

Health-related Quality of Life8 weeks

Measured using the Arthritis Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL). The PedsQL Arthritis Module is a 22-item self-report scale with five subscales: pain and hurt, daily activities, treatment, worry, and communication.

Self Efficacy8 weeks

Measured using the Children's Arthritis Self-Efficacy Scale (CASE). The CASE is a disease specific 11-item self-report measure that is divided into three sub-scales: activity, symptom, and emotion. A 5-point Likert scale is used to rate responses to each item with 1 = "not at all sure" to 5 = "very sure" based on how confident the child is that they can manage disease effects.

JIA-specific Disease Knowledge8 weeks

Measured using the 24-item Medical Issues, Exercise, Pain and Social Support Questionnaire (MEPS). MEPS is made up of 4 sub scales (medical issues, exercise, pain, and social support). Items are rated on a 10-cm VAS with higher scores indicating greater disease knowledge.

Adherence8 weeks

Adherence to medical treatment will be assessed using the 34-item Child Adherence Report Questionnaire (CARQ) that assesses adherence to prescribed medications, exercises, and wearing of splints over the past 3 months. The CARQ was developed specifically for children with JIA and consists of three sections: (1) responsibility for treatment, (2) child's ability to adhere to the three types of treatment, and (3) perceptions about helpfulness of therapies. Items in the last two sections are rated on 11-point numeric pain rating scale with higher scores indicating better adherence and perceived helpfulness of therapies.

Trial Locations

Locations (7)

CHU Sainte-Justine

🇨🇦

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

BC Children's Hospital

🇨🇦

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

IWK Health Centre

🇨🇦

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Montreal Children's Hospital

🇨🇦

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

The Hospital for Sick Children

🇨🇦

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario

🇨🇦

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Children's Hospital

🇨🇦

London, Ontario, Canada

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