HeadFlex: personalized interventions for pediatric headaches, V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Personalised process-based psychological intervention for paediatric headache cases: An idionomic ecological momentary study with weekly feedback provision
IRAS ID
340890
Contact name
Vasilis Vasiliou
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Royal Holloway University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 27 days
Research summary
This project will use a brief and highly personalised psychological intervention for adolescents experiencing headaches. We aim to understand how participants’ real data can guide the personalized intervention that we will provide to adolescents, including learning skills to cope with headaches. We will first proceed to an initial assessment of adolescents’ (n=6-8) headache experiences. We will then formulate a diagram to identify central problem areas, or problematic responses relevant to adolescents’ headaches. Based on this, we will deliver a brief, highly personalised intervention focused on developing adaptive psychological skills and coping responses to headaches. The intervention will consist of 4-5 weekly 30-minute 1-to-1 online sessions to address headache-related specific areas of concern, using already known Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) & Acceptance and Commitment (ACT)based psychological interventions. Both interventions reduce headache disability and increase functioning.
During data collection, adolescents will be prompted to complete brief online questionnaires on their smartphones. The questionnaires will be personalised and will measure specific psychological processes identified as target areas for each individual. This data collection approach will then be used to analyse what changes for each individual and how these changes facilitate progress in areas identified as important for adolescents (e.g., school or extracurricular activities). We will also measure whether there is an overall reduction in headache-related disability and improvement in daily life following the intervention’s completion.REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/SW/0071
Date of REC Opinion
29 May 2024
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion