A Randomized-Control Trial of an In-Person vs e-Health Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Adolescents With Chronic Illness

The study will be conducted as a longitudinal randomized controlled trial comparing in-person and eHealth delivery of a mindfulness meditation intervention for adolescents with chronic illness. There will be two arms. An experimental and a feasibility arm. In the experimental arm, 4 groups of 10-15 participants will be formed: two in-person groups (early and late) and two eHealth groups (early and late). The early groups will receive the intervention at the beginning of the study period and the late groups will be wait-list controlled group that will receive the intervention at the middle of the study period. At the end of the recruitment period or when the target number of participants is met (60), whichever comes first, all teens meeting the inclusion criteria will be randomly allocated to one of the four randomized groups. Teens who are not meeting the final inclusion criteria (able to attend mindfulness sessions at Sickkids) will be offered a spot in the feasibility arm of the study until the maximum total number of study participants is reached (60). These participants will be placed in eHealth groups (either early or late) through a separate randomization process.

Data collection will take place at baseline (during the intake meeting), immediately before and following the mindfulness intervention as well as at the end of the 6-month study period. Participants in the experimental arm will provide data through research questionnaires, salivary cortisol analysis as well as individual semi-structured interviews with a research assistant. Salivary samples will be provided from home for participants in the eHealth groups. Participants in the feasibility arm will only provide information through research questionnaires.