Adolescent Cancer Telemedicine for Pain Management

Not Applicable

Completed

Interventions: Behavioral: Telemedicine Pain Management Intervention (waitlist group, intervention administered following 4-week waitlist period)
Behavioral: Telemedicine Pain Management Intervention (immediate group)

Brief Summary: Pain in adolescents undergoing treatment for cancer is a common problem, often related to treatment or to the cancer itself. Due to increasing outpatient-based cancer treatment, the burden of care and pain management has shifted to the home environment. Yet, there are limited interventions that target the management of pain at home. Adolescence is marked by increased need for independence and social integration, both of which can be impaired by pain or fear of pain. To address unique needs during this developmental period, this study will test a telemedicine program to enhance pain knowledge and pain control strategies in adolescents ages 12-21 years who are undergoing treatment for cancer.

Fifty-six teens will be randomized to an intervention or wait-list control condition. Patients randomized to the waitlist control condition will receive the intervention following completion of the waitlist condition. The intervention will consist of four weekly 30-45 minute telemedicine (online via videoconferencing platform) sessions with a trained social work or psychology provider. Sessions will focus on pain psychoeducation, coping tools, communication, and stress management. Participants will complete online questionnaires assessing pain coping, pain management, and pain-related impairment at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 1- and 2-month follow-up.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Age 12-21 years
At least two months post cancer diagnosis
Experienced pain in the past month as defined by at least one pain experience rated >3 on a 0-10 Numeric Rating Scale
Access to the internet for intervention sessions
Fluent in English (Given that the intervention will be delivered in English, all adolescents will need to be fluent in English to participate.)

Exclusion Criteria

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Waitlist Control	Telemedicine Pain Management Intervention (waitlist group, intervention administered following 4-week waitlist period)	Treatment as usual comparator
Telemedicine Pain Management	Telemedicine Pain Management Intervention (immediate group)	-

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Attrition rate	Within 7 days of withdrawing from or completing the intervention	Determined by the percentage of participants who drop out of the study. An attrition rate of 20% or less will indicate feasibility.
Session attendance	Within 7 days of withdrawing from or completing the intervention	Determined by the number of sessions that participants attend (out of 4 total sessions). To be considered feasible, 80% of participants must have completed at least 3 of the sessions within a 6-week period.
Acceptance (measured via 3 categorical multiple choice questions assessing acceptability, impressions, and helpfulness of intervention)	Within 7 days of completing the intervention	Intervention will be deemed acceptable if at least 80% of participants rate each question an average of at least "4" ("Agree") on a 5-point scale anchored by "Strongly Disagree" and "Strongly Agree."

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in pain coping behaviors as assessed by the Pain Coping Questionnaire (PCQ)	At study enrollment (pre-intervention) and between 4 and 6 weeks later (post-intervention for immediate group, post-waitlist period for waitlist group)	Assessed by the change in the total score on the 'Coping with Pain' section of the Pain Coping Questionnaire (PCQ) from pre-intervention to post-intervention (immediate group) or post-waitlist period (waitlist group). Calculated by subtracting the pre-intervention score from the post-intervention score. The 'Coping with Pain' section of the PCQ consists of 39 items. The total score is calculated as a mean rating and can range from 1-5 and higher scores indicate greater use of coping strategies.
Change in pain-related impairment as assessed by the PROMIS Pain Interference - Pediatric Short Form v2.0	At study enrollment (pre-intervention) and between 4 and 6 weeks later (post-intervention for immediate group, post-waitlist period for waitlist group)	Assessed by the change in the total score on the PROMIS Pain Interference - Pediatric Short Form v2.0 from pre-intervention to post-intervention (immediate group) or post-waitlist period (waitlist group). Calculated by subtracting the pre-intervention score from the post-intervention score. The PROMIS Pain Interference - Pediatric Short Form v2.0 is an 8-item measure whose total score can range from 8-40. Higher scores indicate higher interference caused by pain.

Locations (1): University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
🇺🇸
Los Angeles, California, United States