Currently submitted to: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Mar 19, 2024
Open Peer Review Period: Mar 20, 2024 - May 15, 2024
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Internet-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy for children and adolescents with functional abdominal pain disorders: Study protocol for the investigation of the trajectory of effectiveness, illness understanding and parental worries
ABSTRACT
Background:
Functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs) are common in young people and are characterized by persistent or recurrent abdominal symptoms without apparent structural or biochemical abnormalities. These disorders are associated with diminished quality of life, school absence, increased health care use, and co-morbid anxiety and depression. Exposure-based internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) has demonstrated efficacy in alleviating abdominal symptoms and improving quality of life. However, a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying the effect and the identification of additional treatment targets could contribute to the refinement of the treatment.
Objective:
This protocol paper describes a study focusing on children and adolescents undergoing ICBT for FAPDs, aiming to further investigate the underlying mechanisms.
Methods:
First, the timing of the onset of the effect is examined through a single-case design study involving six children and six adolescents (sub-study 1). Following this, a pilot study with 30 children and 30 adolescents explores potential illness-related cognitive biases and interoceptive accuracy before and after treatment (sub-study 2). Finally, spanning across these two sub-studies, we will assess parental distress and illness worries before and after treatment, and how these factors impact the treatment adherence and outcomes of the child or adolescent (sub-study 3).
Results:
Recruitment of participants began in June 2022 and is currently ongoing. The study is expected to be completed by January 2025.
Conclusions:
The findings have the potential to contribute to the ongoing improvement of specialized psychological treatment for FAPDs in young people. Clinical Trial: Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05237882 and NCT05486585) and OSF: https://osf.io/c49k7
Citation
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Copyright
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