The iPeer2Peer Program for Adolescents With Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

The Hospital for Sick Children

Status: Completed

Conditions: Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Treatments: Other: Active Comparator: Control Group; Behavioral: iPeer2Peer Mentorship

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03116763

1000054878

Details and patient eligibility

About

The iPeer2Peer program matches teens with arthritis to an older mentor who has learned to manage their arthritis well and can support them emotionally and socially. This study will compare two groups of teens: those who are in the iPeer2Peer Program and those in the control group (no mentor).

Full description

Arthritis is a common childhood illness that makes everyday activities hard for young people. It is a long-lasting illness that can make you feel pain, tired and emotionally upset. This can make it hard for children and teens to see friends and do the activities that they like. The goal of this project is to find out if the newly developed peer mentoring program called iPeer2Peer helps teens with arthritis take better care of their illness and feel more connected to other people with arthritis. The iPeer2Peer program matches teens with arthritis to an older mentor who has learned to manage their arthritis well and can support them emotionally and socially. This study will compare two groups of teens: those who are in the iPeer2Peer Program and those in the control group (no mentor).

Enrollment: 164 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 12 to 18 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• males and females 12-18 years old
• rheumatologist-diagnosed JIA according to ILAR criteria
• able to speak and read English
• access to a computer, smartphone or tablet capable of using free Skype software (note: participants who do not have adequate Internet access will be provided with portable Internet sticks)
• willing and able to complete online measures.

Exclusion criteria

• significant cognitive impairments
• major co-morbid illnesses (medical or psychiatric conditions) likely to influence HRQL assessment
• participating in other peer support or self-management interventions.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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164 participants in 2 patient groups

iPeer2Peer Mentorship

Experimental group

Description:

In addition to standard care, youth in the experimental group will receive the iPeer2Peer program, a peer mentorship program that will provide modeling and reinforcement of self-management by pre-screened and trained peer mentors (young adults with JIA aged 18-22 years who have learned to function successfully with their disease). Mentors will encourage participants to develop and engage in self-management skills and provide social support.

Treatment:

Behavioral: iPeer2Peer Mentorship

Control Group

Active Comparator group

Description:

The control group will receive standard care but without the iPeer2Peer program.

Treatment:

Other: Active Comparator: Control Group