Are you wondering how your child can learn to manage pain on their own? Is your teen with rheumatic disease looking for a way to stay motivated, monitor their symptoms and track how they’re feeling on a day-to-day basis? We’ve teamed up with SickKids on a research study to bring the iCanCope with Pain app into the hands of teenagers with JIA in Canada. A goal of the iCanCope program is to empower adolescents with JIA with pain self-management skills, which will hopefully improve their quality of life.

Persistent pain can negatively impact all aspects of life for those living with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. It is important to empower young people with JIA with the skills they need to manage their condition. A research team at SickKids has created a new iPhone app for 12-18 year olds with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) pain. The iCanCope with Pain app is designed to help young people keep track of their JIA symptoms, learn pain coping strategies, set personalized goals, and learn strategies to manage their illness from other young people with JIA.

iCanCope is a smartphone and web-based program designed to support young people with persistent pain. iCanCope was developed with extensive input from young people and healthcare providers. First, interviews and focus groups were completed to better understand the self-management needs of this group. Second, a series of iCanCope design sessions were completed with patient partners to generate three overarching design principles:

Want to take part? Follow these steps to learn more:

1.       Download the iCanCope with Pain app from the Apple App Store (not available for android). Here is the link: https://tinyurl.com/y2s4x4al

2.       Open the app > Click SIGN UP at the bottom > Select ACCESS CODE > Enter the code: CASSIEANDFRIENDS

3.       Answer a few easy questions to see if you are eligible for the study.

4.       Learn about the study and decide if you want to take part.

5.       Remember to check your junk folder for emails from the study.

Questions?

Contact the iCanCope Team, ican.cope@sickkids.ca

Following completion of the research study, iCanCope will be made freely available to the public. iCanCope will increase the accessibility of pain self-management care for young people with persistent pain across Canada. Access to a tailored and engaging digital self-management program may improve health-related quality of life and minimize future pain-related disability for the thousands of Canadian youth who live with persistent pain.