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A Short Digital Intervention for Youth Undergoing Major Surgery and Their Parents
Sponsor: Helen Koechlin
Summary
The perioperative time, i.e., the time before, during, and directly after surgery, can be stressful for families whose child needs to undergo major orthopedic surgery. Families have expressed their need for more and easily accessible information on what to expect before and after surgery, and how to deal with postoperative pain. Single-session interventions are short interventions, often digital, that are scalable and present as a low-threshold approach for psychoeducational purposes. Previous studies have demonstrated good feasibility and acceptability of single-session interventions for psychosocial problems such as perioperative anxiety among families. Therefore, in this pilot study, the investigators will test a newly developed digital single-session intervention for youth undergoing major orthopedic surgery and their parents. The intervention will provide pain education, general and individual resources, and a special module for parents on how they can best support their children. In this study, the investigators will evaluate if participants use the digital intervention, if they perceive the content as useful and the format as engaging, and whether there are aspects that need to be added or changed.
Official title: Pediatric Perioperative Pain Intervention (POPI): A Pilot Feasibility Study of a Psychoeducational Digital Single-Session Intervention
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
8 Years - 18 Years
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
12
Start Date
2026-10
Completion Date
2027-01
Last Updated
2026-09-10
Healthy Volunteers
No
Conditions
Interventions
Psychoeducational single-session intervention for families during the perioperative period
The intervention is digital, and there is a separate version for youth with a planned surgery and for their parents. The intervention contains four main components: 1. Psychoeducation on pain and pain management, information concerning hospitalization, general information about anesthesia and surgery, and coping strategies. 2. Peer testimonials in the form of brief supportive statements (written/audio) from former patients and caregivers describing strategies and experiences they found helpful during the perioperative period. 3. Activity section for participants, where they select and rank coping strategies and supportive tips from a list. 4. Action plan based on the activites selected (see step 3) that are automatically transferred into a personalized action plan section. Participants may also add more strategies and a preferred support contact person to contact in emotionally challenging situations.
Locations (1)
University Children's Hospital Zurich
Zurich, Switzerland