Community Health Workers and mHealth for Sickle Cell Disease Care

NCT ID: NCT03648710

Last Updated: 2024-12-04

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

405 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2019-01-15

Study Completion Date

2024-08-31

Brief Summary

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This study will compare the effectiveness of two self-management support interventions-Community Health Workers (CHW) and mobile health (mHealth)-versus enhanced usual care to improve health-related quality of life and acute care use for transitioning youth with sickle cell disease (SCD), and identify and quantify mediators and moderators of intervention treatment effects.

Detailed Description

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Emerging adults with sickle cell disease (SCD) experience a seven-fold increase in mortality rates during the transition period (16-25 years of age). This staggering increase in mortality and acute care utilization during this vulnerable period is partly due to difficulty coordinating care during the transition to adult care. Critical psychosocial issues further compound the vulnerability of emerging adults with SCD during the transition from pediatric to adult care9. Unfortunately, none of these transition intervention studies included adolescents or young adults with SCD. Patients, parents, and providers of those with SCD agree that the ability to independently perform chronic disease self-management is critical to staying healthy during this turbulent transition period.

Self-management support is a key component of the Chronic Care Model. Community health worker (CHW) programs are increasingly popular and have efficacy on chronic disease self-management and system navigation. Mobile health platforms are equally popular, and have efficacy on self-management and adherence. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of mHealth and tailored texting among emerging adults with SCD is still unknown. Furthermore, also unknown is the comparative effectiveness of CHW programs and mHealth.

The purpose of the study is to determine the comparative effectiveness of CHW programs and mHealth among emerging adults with SCD during transition versus enhanced usual care to improve health-related quality of life and acute care use for transitioning youth with SCD.

The primary objective of this study is to compare the effectiveness of two self-management support interventions (community health workers and mobile health) versus enhanced usual care to improve health-related quality of life and acute care use for transitioning youth with SCD. The secondary objectives are to:

* Identify and quantify whether patient activation, self-management behaviors, biologic markers, and transfer to adult care are mediators of intervention treatment effects.
* Identify individual and family factors that moderate intervention treatment effects

The exploratory aim is to:

•Explore the association of enhancements to usual care on pediatric and adult acute utilization

The study population will consist of all patients with SCD who are 17 or older and are appropriate for transfer to an adult hematologist within 12 months. Excluded are individuals with an intellectual disability that is severe enough that the individual would not have the capacity to interact with a mobile or web-based program even with assistance or have a conversation with a community health worker (i.e. non-verbal).

Conditions

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Sickle Cell Disease

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Caregivers Investigators

Study Groups

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Enhanced Usual Care

Enhanced usual care will be standardized across sites with transition/transfer of care checklists that will be used at all sites. Enhanced usual care will minimally include (1) patient seen by the pediatric provider with the parent outside the examination room, (2) a social work consult to screen and address sociodemographic risk factors, (3) information on health insurance adequacy provided to patient, (4) adult hematologist identified, (5) adult primary care provider identified, (6) medical release signed, and (7) medical record viewable or sent to adult provider.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Peer Community Health Worker

The CHW program will primarily be modeled after the highly successful IMPaCT Program developed by the Penn Center for Community Health Workers and CHOP's Youth CHW Program for Pediatric to Adult Transitions developed by our research team, which were both developed with high levels of patient input. SCD specific content and expertise from the CHW Program through the Sickle Cell Disease Association of American Philadelphia Delaware Valley Chapter and other published models will be included. Components will include: 1) development of patient-centered goals and individualized action plan around self-care, symptom tracking, and transition to adult care; 2) provision of information, skills, and tips; and 3) tailored peer support using telephone calls and/or visits

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Peer Community Health Worker

Intervention Type OTHER

Participants will be communicating with their CHWs on a weekly basis, which is consistent with other successful community health worker protocols with published efficacy. Community Health Workers will be peers with sickle cell disease, who have successfully transitioned and are under 30 years of age.

Mobile Health

All participants enrolled in the mHealth arm will download an enhanced version of iManage, which was developed by Co-Investigator Lori Crosby at and adolescents and young adult patients with SCD. Components include: 1) development of patient-centered goals around self-care, symptom tracking, and transition to adult care; 2) provision of information, skills, and tips; 3) virtual peer support where users can encourage others to complete goals, forms teams, and interact with other youth with SCD; and 4) daily symptom tracking and visual tracking of goal completion. Investigators will add with daily tailored texting.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Mobile Health

Intervention Type OTHER

A mobile health application created as a resource for young adults transitioning.

Interventions

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Peer Community Health Worker

Participants will be communicating with their CHWs on a weekly basis, which is consistent with other successful community health worker protocols with published efficacy. Community Health Workers will be peers with sickle cell disease, who have successfully transitioned and are under 30 years of age.

Intervention Type OTHER

Mobile Health

A mobile health application created as a resource for young adults transitioning.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Males or females age 17 years or older
* Have sickle cell disease, defined as those individuals with HbSS, HbSC, HbSβ0Thal, HbSβ+Thal genotypes
* Receive care at a participating pediatric sickle cell disease center.
* Appropriate for transfer to an adult hematologist within 12 months

Exclusion Criteria

* Individuals with an intellectual disability that is severe enough that the individual would not have the capacity to interact with a mobile or web-based program even with assistance or have a conversation with a community health worker (i.e. non-verbal). Individuals without access to a mobile device, tablet or computer.
Minimum Eligible Age

17 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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St. Christopher's Hospital for Children

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center

INDIV

Sponsor Role collaborator

Connecticut Children's Medical Center

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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David Rubin, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Sophia Jan, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Cohen's Children Medical Center/Northwell Health

Kim Smith-Whitley, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Locations

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Connecticut Children's Medical Center

Hartford, Connecticut, United States

Site Status

Cohen's Children's Medical Center

New Hyde Park, New York, United States

Site Status

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Site Status

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Site Status

St. Christophers Hospital for Children

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Belton TD, Steinway CM, Teng O, Shults J, Barakat LP, Aygun B, Appiah-Kubi A, Crosby LE, Niss O, Andemariam B, Schwartz LA, Luma S, Smith KA, Johnson TB, Rubin DM, Smith-Whitley KM, Jan S. The Community Health Workers and Mobile Health for Emerging Adults Transitioning Sickle Cell Disease Care (COMETS) Trial: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc. 2025 Sep 4;14:e69239. doi: 10.2196/69239.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 40905609 (View on PubMed)

Lalji R, Koh L, Francis A, Khalid R, Guha C, Johnson DW, Wong G. Patient navigator programmes for children and adolescents with chronic diseases. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2024 Oct 9;10(10):CD014688. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD014688.pub2.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 39382077 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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18-015106

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id