Brief telephone-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy targeted to parents of children with functional abdominal...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Gastroenterology
• Child Psychology
• Behavioral Medicine

Background:

• Pediatric functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs) significantly impact children's quality of life (QoL), leading to increased healthcare use and school absenteeism.
• There is a critical need for accessible and cost-effective interventions to manage FAPDs in children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a brief, parent-focused cognitive behavioral intervention for pediatric functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs).
• To compare in-person and remote delivery of the intervention on primary (pain severity) and secondary outcomes, including parental responses and child functioning.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, longitudinal multisite study randomized 316 child-parent dyads (children aged 7-12 with FAPD) into three conditions: in-person social learning and cognitive behavioral therapy (SLCBT), remote SLCBT (SLCBT-R), or remote education and support (ES-R).
• Outcomes were assessed at baseline and 3 and 6 months, including pain severity, parental solicitousness, pain beliefs, catastrophizing, functional disability, QoL, pain behaviors, school absences, healthcare utilization, and gastrointestinal symptoms.

Main Results:

• While no significant difference in pain severity was observed, both in-person and remote SLCBT groups showed significant improvements in parental solicitousness, pain beliefs, and catastrophizing compared to controls.
• Parent-reported functional disability, pain behaviors, and child healthcare visits for abdominal pain improved significantly in SLCBT groups.
• The remote SLCBT group (SLCBT-R) also demonstrated significant improvements in child-reported QoL and reduced school absences compared to the control group.

Conclusions:

• A brief, parent-focused social learning and cognitive behavioral therapy (SLCBT) intervention, delivered either in-person or remotely, can effectively modify parental responses and improve functional outcomes for children with FAPDs.
• Remote delivery of SLCBT offers a scalable and accessible option, demonstrating comparable effectiveness to in-person delivery for several key outcomes, highlighting its potential for wider implementation.