IMPACT : Interventions to improve Mental health support in families with children and young people with Chronic RheumaTological conditions (IMPACT)

Research summary

Background Paediatric Rheumatology is a term that covers over 80 conditions, affecting different parts of the body, such as Juvenile Arthritis. Children and young people (CYP) with rheumatological conditions can have high levels of mental health problems and therefore are at risk of poor health outcomes. We need to look at novel ways of providing early, essential support, to improve their current wellbeing. Our aims This study will create a digital-service that can guide parents through ways of supporting their CYP at home. This will be a chatbot that parents can have on their phone or on a website, which will offer education and advice. Our service will offer a different way of supporting parents, through coaching by role-play and practicing difficult conversations. How to do it? This is a co-designed study, which means that CYP with rheumatological conditions, parents, health-professionals and charities are involved in every step. 1. Asking important questions We will gather information from parents and health-professionals on their views about what they think the assistant should help with. Most importantly, we will seek the views of CYP, especially what they wish their parents had known. 2. Being creative We will then work with our patient and parent group to co-design the chatbot. This part of the study is vital to ensure that the views of those with rheumatological conditions are at the heart of this study. We will then ask parents to test the chatbot and make any changes they suggest, until we have a good end result. What next? We will work with our expert group, charities and health-professionals to share our findings and present at events, conferences and in journals. We will learn from any changes that need to be made, to improve the parent chatbot and ultimately make a similar chatbot for CYP.

Principal Investigator

Ruth Finch

Contact us

Email: childrensresearch@ouh.nhs.uk

IRAS number

329476