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The Pain Squad+ Smartphone App To Support Real-Time Pain Management for Adolescents With Cancer

Therapy-Associated Cancer

Pain negatively affects the quality of life of adolescents with cancer (AWC). It can also represent a high cost to the healthcare system and families. In response, our team has built a smartphone-based app, called Pain Squad+, which can give AWC real-time advice to manage their pain. The app uses pain diaries and personalized pain advice plus support from a registered nurse to give real-time pain management in all settings. This study will look at the impact of Pain Squad+, with or without the nurse support, on AWC health quality and healthcare costs over time.

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Participation Requirements

  • Sex:

    ALL
  • Eligible Ages:

    12 to 18

Participation Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

* aged 12-18 years,
* are able to speak and read English,
* are diagnosed with cancer (all disease types),
* are on active therapy,
* have an average self-reported pain score of ≥3/10 measured using an 11-point numerical rating scale (NRS) over the preceding week, and
* have an English-speaking and reading caregiver who is willing and able to complete outcome measures related to healthcare encounters

Exclusion Criteria:

* with significant cognitive impairments or co-morbid illnesses (as determined by their medical team) that would limit interaction with Pain Squad+ or outcome measure assessment,
* who are currently participating in other pain management studies, and
* who are not expected to survive past 16 weeks as determined by their oncologist

Study Location

BC Children's Hospital
BC Children's Hospital
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada

Contact Study Team

Primary Contact

Caron Strahlendorf, MD

[email protected]
604-875-3576
Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario
Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada

Contact Study Team

Primary Contact

Donna Johnston, MD

[email protected]
613-737-7600
Stollery Children's Hospital
Stollery Children's Hospital
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada

Contact Study Team

Primary Contact

Sarah McKillop, MD

[email protected]
Children's Hospital London Health Sciences
Children's Hospital London Health Sciences
London, Ontario
Canada

Contact Study Team

Primary Contact

Serina Patel, MD

[email protected]
519.685.8500
IWK Health Centre
IWK Health Centre
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Canada

Contact Study Team

Primary Contact

Conrad Fernandez

[email protected]
902-470-6839
Hospital for Sick Children
Hospital for Sick Children
Toronto, Ontario
Canada

Contact Study Team

Primary Contact

Paul Nathan, MD

[email protected]
416-813-7743
Alberta Children's Hospital
Alberta Children's Hospital
Calgary, Alberta
Canada

Contact Study Team

Primary Contact

Victor Lewis, MD

[email protected]
403-955-7203
McMaster Children's Hospital
McMaster Children's Hospital
Hamilton, Ontario
Canada

Contact Study Team

Primary Contact

Vicky Breakey, MD

[email protected]
Montreal Children's Hospital
Montreal Children's Hospital
Montréal, Quebec
Canada

Contact Study Team

Primary Contact

Christine Sabapathy, MD

[email protected]
514-412-4445
Study Sponsored By
The Hospital for Sick Children
Participants Required
More Information
Study ID: NCT03632343