iCanCope with Pain™: User‐Centred Design of a Web‐ and Mobile‐Based Self‐Management Program for Youth with Chronic Pain Based on Identified Health Care Needs

Abstract

Chronic pain self-management involves providing patients with knowledge, coping strategies and social support that help them to manage their pain. This type of intervention has been shown to be useful in treating chronic pain; however, many eligible chronic pain patients never receive such treatment due to limited accessibility and high cost. The use of Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy has the potential to change this. In this study, the authors report their progress in the development of an Internet- and smartphone-based application for chronic pain self-management.

Informações on-line como suporte às famílias de crianças e adolescentes com doença crônica

“…Chart 1 -Characterisation of the papers included in the review (continue) In the first category, the potentialities of the use of online information to support children and youths with chronic disease were: search for online information, both sexes, in families with chronically ill children, which serves as relief for the parents since they verified that the symptoms and behaviours of their children are appropriate for the age and provide knowledge for the family members to discuss treatment with the physician (13) ; source of complementary knowledge (17) ; supports caregivers due to the dynamism, flow, and possibility of exchanging information (18,20) ; helps parents cope with chronic diseases (14,16,(19)(20)(21)(22) ; attracts teenage audiences (16) ; contributes in self-care (17)(18) ; has positive results in online therapeutic follow-up, as in the consultations at the doctors' offices (15) ; and although the internet is widely accessed, health professionals continue to be the main source of information (20) . In the second category, the weaknesses of the use of online information to support the parents of children and adolescents with chronic diseases were: difficulties in understanding the information (14,19) ; the "digital divide" (limited knowledge of different languages, use of high-cost electronic devices, and access for the low-income population) (16,(19)(20)(21) ; restriction of online therapeutic models to populations in specific chronic conditions (15) ; low quality (23)(24) and reliability (24) of the available content; low availability of data for adolescents (23) ; deficit of skills of health professionals to identify and conduct the use of online support tools (20)(21)(22)(23)(24) , and ignorance of legal regulations on online communication …”

“…In the second category, the weaknesses of the use of online information to support the parents of children and adolescents with chronic diseases were: difficulties in understanding the information (14,19) ; the "digital divide" (limited knowledge of different languages, use of high-cost electronic devices, and access for the low-income population) (16,(19)(20)(21) ; restriction of online therapeutic models to populations in specific chronic conditions (15) ; low quality (23)(24) and reliability (24) of the available content; low availability of data for adolescents (23) ; deficit of skills of health professionals to identify and conduct the use of online support tools (20)(21)(22)(23)(24) , and ignorance of legal regulations on online communication (20) .…”

“…The family members of these sufferers search for information to acquire knowledge and adopt the appropriate care practices for their children (7) that complement the care provided by the healthcare professionals (16,26) . In a study conducted in the United States to examine the use of the internet to search for health-related information according to sex and the parental status, it was found that men and women with children search for information in a similar way, and both feel relief with the data found because they discover that most of the symptoms and behaviours are normal among children (13) .…”

“…In addition to the content available on the internet and online services, in order to cope with the chronic condition, parents, children, and adolescents use applications that focus on the specific pathology (14,16,(19)(20)(21)(22) . These tools allow them to expand their health education and manage their own condition as considered convenient (31) .…”

“…These tools allow them to expand their health education and manage their own condition as considered convenient (31) . It is also attractive mostly to adolescents since they are the most active users of these applications (16) . The use of these technological innovations may not be entirely suitable for health professionals since they require qualifications to support and strengthen the use of these resources for healthcare.…”