iPeer2Peer program

Abstract

Adolescents with chronic pain are often socially isolated, having never met others with chronic pain, and often feel misunderstood by healthy peers. Adolescence is a sensitive period for developing one's sense of self and autonomy, which often occurs in the context of peer relationships. This developmental process is disrupted in adolescents when their chronic pain interferes with their social interactions. Peer mentoring is proposed as a developmentally timely intervention. The aim of this study is to develop and test the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of the iPeer2Peer program. The iPeer2Peer program is a tailored peer mentorship program that provides modeling and reinforcement by peers (trained young adults with chronic pain aged 18-25 years who have learned to successfully manage their pain). This program aimed to enhance self-management of chronic pain in adolescents through 10 Skype video calls over the course of 8 weeks. A pilot randomized controlled trial design using waitlist controls was used in an adolescent chronic pain sample. Twenty-eight adolescents aged 14.8 ± 1.6 years (93% female) completed the trial (intervention: n = 12; control n = 16). Three adolescents completed the intervention after completing their participation in the control arm. The iPeer2Peer program was feasible and acceptable, provided the adolescents were given more time to complete all 10 calls. When compared with controls, adolescents who completed the iPeer2Peer program had significant improvement in self-management skills and their coping efforts were more successful. The iPeer2Peer program is a promising peer mentoring intervention that complements standard care for adolescents with chronic pain.

The iPeer2Peer Program: a pilot randomized controlled trial in adolescents with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

“…Peer mentoring has been associated with improved diverse health outcomes [13–15]. However a systematic review on interventions to improve psychological adaptation to chronic disease by adolescents concluded that the efficiency of peer support groups requires more research; in particular how to achieve greater reach and adoption using novel information and communication technologies [16].…”

“…In order to meet the informational, physical, emotional and social needs of adolescents with JIA, an online peer mentoring intervention, the iPeer2Peer Program, was developed [13, 18]. The iPeer2Peer Program focuses on pairing an adolescent living with JIA with a trained young person successfully managing JIA.…”

“…Moreover, acting in a peer mentor role may positively impact the peer mentors’ own self-efficacy and self-management skills [19]. The iPeer2Peer Program has been successfully tested in pediatric chronic pain populations [13]. The aims of this study were to determine the feasibility and acceptability of the iPeer2Peer Program in adolescents with JIA as well as to explore effectiveness outcome measures for the purposes of refining the program and methodology before a full scale randomized controlled trial (RCT).…”

Advantages and limitations of virtual online consultations in a NHS acute trust: the VOCAL mixed-methods study

“…exploring issues of usability and acceptability). 45,[99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110][111][112][113] Many focus specifically on the clinical use of Skype, 91,[114][115][116][117][118][119][120][121][122][123] either on its own or in combination with other technologies [e.g. WhatsApp (WhatsApp Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA) messaging 124 or FaceTime 125,126 ].…”

Components of effective cognitive-behavioral therapy for pediatric headache: A mixed methods approach.

“…Other suggestions from families require further consideration, such as social support interventions. For example, there is some early research supporting the feasibility and acceptability of online peer mentoring among youth with mixed chronic pain conditions (Ahola Kohut et al, 2016) However, limited efficacy data are available and this approach has not been examined among youth with headache. Research is needed to determine whether social support interventions are feasible, acceptable, and effective for youth with headache.…”