JMIR Pediatr Parent
October 2024
Background: Transition from pediatric to adult health care varies and is resource intensive. Patient-centered health information technology (HIT) interventions are increasingly being developed in partnership with patients.
Objective: This study aims to develop an internet-based mobile app intervention for patients with brain-based disabilities to improve transition in care readiness.
Background: While patient and family engagement in research has become a widespread practice, meaningful and authentic engagement remains a challenge. In the READYorNot™ Brain-Based Disabilities Study, we developed the MyREADY Transition™ Brain-Based Disabilities App to promote education, empowerment, and navigation for the transition from pediatric to adult care among youth with brain-based disabilities, aged 15-17 years old. Our research team created a Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) to engage adolescents, young adults, and parent caregivers as partners throughout our multi-year and multi-stage project.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Youth with brain-based disabilities (BBDs), as well as their parents/caregivers, often feel ill-prepared for the transfer from paediatric to adult healthcare services. To address this pressing issue, we developed the MyREADY Transition BBD App, a patient-facing e-health intervention. The primary aim of this randomised controlled trial (RCT) was to determine whether the App will result in greater transition readiness compared with usual care for youth with BBD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Accessible self-management interventions are critical for adolescents with sickle cell disease to better cope with their disease, improve health outcomes and health-related quality of life, and promote successful transition to adult health care services. However, very few comprehensive self-management and transitional care programs have been developed and tested in this population. Internet and mobile phone technologies can improve accessibility and acceptability of interventions to promote disease self-management in adolescents with sickle cell disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To demonstrate how family physicians can contribute to a piece of the journey of improving quality-of-life outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) when they undergo the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
Sources Of Information: The "Primary care of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 2018 Canadian consensus guidelines" literature review and interdisciplinary input.
Objective: To update the 2011 Canadian guidelines for primary care of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
Methods: Family physicians and other health professionals experienced in the care of people with IDD reviewed and synthesized recent empirical, ecosystem, expert, and experiential knowledge. A system was developed to grade the strength of recommendations.
Adolescence can be a particularly challenging period for individuals with a chronic health condition or disability. We present a new mnemonic, THRxEADS ( for Transition, for Home, for Medication and Treatment, for Education and Eating, for Activities and Affect, for Drugs and for Sexuality), which can be used as a complement to the adolescent HEADS (ome-ducation-ctivities-rugs-exuality) assessment. THRxEADS may serve as a clinical tool to explore key issues that are often not covered in subspecialty clinic visits such as transition, coping, adherence and understanding of illness, as they apply to youth with special health care needs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Treatment of neuropathic pain in children is challenging, and requires a multimodal approach of pharmacologic, physical, and psychological therapies; however there is little evidence to guide practice. Amitriptyline and gabapentin are first-line drugs for treating neuropathic pain in adults, yet no studies have examined their efficacy, or compared them directly, to determine which might be better for pain relief and sleep disturbance in children.
Methods: After informed consent was obtained, 34 patients aged 7-18 years diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome type I (CRPS I) or a neuropathic pain condition were randomly allocated to receive either amitriptyline or gabapentin.
Pediatr Rheumatol Online J
September 2016
Background: Adolescents with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) are at risk for physical, emotional, social and role challenges that negatively impact quality of life. Peer mentoring has been shown to improve positive health behaviours in adolescents with chronic disease while simultaneously providing social support. The objectives of this paper are to examine the feasibility and acceptability of an online peer mentoring program (iPeer2Peer Program) for adolescents with JIA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To assess use, utility and impact of transition interventions designed to support and empower self-management in youth with chronic health conditions during transition into adult healthcare.
Design: A 4-year mixed-method prospective cohort study.
Setting: 2 academic paediatric hospitals (13 clinics) in Canada.
Moving from pediatric to adult healthcare is a time of stress and opportunity for adolescents with special healthcare needs (ASHCN) and their families. With over 90% of children with special healthcare needs surviving into young adulthood, there is an increasing imperative to actively engage youth in preparing for the adult system (Betz and Smith 2011; Pai and Schwartz 2011). The goal of transition care is to provide young people with a coordinated, uninterrupted and developmentally appropriate transfer to adult healthcare (Kaufman and Pinzon 2007).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: As part of the special series on pain, our objectives are to describe the key features of chronic pain in children, present the rationale for interdisciplinary treatment, report a case study based on our biopsychosocial approach, and highlight the integral role of physiotherapy in reducing children's pain and improving function. We also evaluate the evidence base supporting physiotherapy for treating chronic neuropathic pain in children.
Summary Of Key Points: Chronic pain affects many children and adolescents.