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Using a web-based game to prevent posttraumatic stress in children following medical events: design of a randomized
Meghan L Marsac1, Kristen L Kohser, Flaura K Winston
1Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA ; Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Insights
This study tests Coping Coach, a web-based program designed to prevent posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in children after medical events. The trial will assess its feasibility and preliminary effectiveness in young patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Psychology
- Digital Health Interventions
- Trauma and Resilience
Background:
- Pediatric medical events are common causes of potentially traumatic experiences for children.
- Limited resources exist for preventing posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) following these events.
- Web-based interventions offer a scalable solution for delivering mental health support to families.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design a randomized controlled trial evaluating the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of Coping Coach.
- To assess Coping Coach's potential in preventing or reducing PTSS in children post-medical events.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial involving 70 children (aged 8-12) and their parents.
- Participants randomly assigned to the Coping Coach intervention or a waitlist control group.
- Intervention delivered via online modules with telephone follow-ups at 6, 12, and 18 weeks.
Main Results:
- Primary outcomes include feasibility data and preliminary efficacy measures.
- Assessing child appraisals, coping strategies, PTSS, and health-related quality of life.
Conclusions:
- The study will yield data on the feasibility of implementing the Coping Coach intervention and study procedures.
- Results will inform sample size estimations for future, larger-scale efficacy studies.
Background:
Medical events including acute illness and injury are among the most common potentially traumatic experiences for children. Despite the scope of the problem, only limited resources are available for prevention of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) after pediatric medical events. Web-based programs provide a low-cost, accessible means to reach a wide range of families and show promise in related areas of child mental health.
Objectives:
To describe the design of a randomized controlled trial that will evaluate feasibility and estimate preliminary efficacy of Coping Coach, a web-based preventive intervention to prevent or reduce PTSS after acute pediatric medical events.
Method:
Seventy children and their parents will be randomly assigned to either an intervention or a waitlist control condition. Inclusion criteria require that children are aged 8-12 years, have experienced a medical event, have access to Internet and telephone, and have sufficient competency in the English language to complete measures and understand the intervention. Participants will complete baseline measures and will then be randomized to the intervention or waitlist control condition. Children in the intervention condition will complete module 1 (Feelings Identification) in the hospital and will be instructed on how to complete modules 2 (Appraisals) and 3 (Avoidance) online. Follow-up assessments will be conducted via telephone at 6, 12, and 18 weeks after the baseline assessment. Following the 12-week assessment, children in the waitlist control condition will receive instructions for completing the intervention.
Results:
Primary study outcomes include data on intervention feasibility and outcomes (child appraisals, coping, PTSS and health-related quality of life).
Discussion:
Results will provide data on the feasibility of the implementation of the Coping Coach intervention and study procedures as well as estimations of efficacy to determine sample size for a larger study. Potential strengths and limitations of this design are discussed.
