Clinical trial · Interventional
Pain Caregiver Resource (PainCaRe)
Building mHealth Parent Capacity to Manage Pain in Young Children With Cancer: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Pain is a problem for children with cancer, especially when they are outside of the hospital setting. Younger children with cancer are particularly vulnerable to undermanaged pain because of their inability to self-report pain and their reliance on parents for treatment. One method to help these children to get the best care possible is through the use of smartphone-based mHealth solutions. Smartphone apps can provide treatment advice to patients experiencing pain in real-time and in any environment. This research will use a phased and user-centered approach with family caregivers to co-design and co-evaluate the new cancer Pain Caregiver Resource (PainCaRe) app to achieve the following aims: (1) high-fidelity software development and usability refinement; (2) evaluation of trial feasibility and preliminary effectiveness in a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT); and (3) systematic analysis of caregiver app usage patterns to refine PainCaRe for optimal engagement prior to a future RCT.
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric Cancer | Childhood Malignant Neoplasm | ALIAS | 0.90 |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pain Caregiver Resource (PainCaRe) | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Intervention Arm
- description
- Participants will download the PainCaRe app from the web to their personal phone either virtually or in-person. Parents will receive app-based notifications to complete a pain assessment report once-daily. Assessments not completed will be marked as "missed". Parents will also have the ability to complete ad hoc pain assessments as needed. In response to the assessment indicating a child has pain, evidence-based, algorithm-driven pharmacological, physical, or psychological pain treatment guidance will be provided. This guidance is tailored to the age and developmental stage of the child.
- interventionNames
- Other: Pain Caregiver Resource (PainCaRe)
- type
- NO_INTERVENTION
- label
- Control Arm
- description
- Parents randomized to the control arm (non-intervention group) will not be assigned to the PainCaRe app and their child will continue to receive standard medical and pain care.
Primary outcomes (4)
- measure
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
Show eligibility criteria text
1. Be the primary caregiver, or person assuming the majority of care activities, for a child aged 2-11 years undergoing cancer treatment and experiencing above mild pain (≥3/10) in the week preceding study enrolment (pain measured by self or caregiver proxy using a validated numerical 11-point rating scale). 2. Be able to speak and read English.
References
Publications (0)
Data not yet available