Feasibility and Efficacy of Attentional-Control Training Using EndeavorRx to Support Children with Sickle Cell Disease Aged 8 to 16 Receiving Chronic Blood Transfusions

What this Trial Is About

Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) often have lower cognitive abilities, especially trouble with attention, compared to peers without SCD. These difficulties are related to brain damage caused by strokes and anemia common in severe SCD cases, affecting areas responsible for executive function and attention. This research is exploring if EndeavorRx, an FDA-approved digital attention training program, can help improve attention in children with SCD aged 8 to 16 who are on chronic blood transfusion therapy to prevent strokes. EndeavorRx is delivered as a tablet-based video game that trains attention skills through interactive tasks. Children play for 25 to 30 minutes daily, five days a week, over four weeks. The program includes two main tasks: responding to target stimuli while ignoring distractions and steering a hovercraft to hit or avoid objects. The game adjusts its difficulty based on the user's performance both during and between sessions to continuously challenge attention control. Participants will be monitored for about 10 months to assess how interested families are in the program, how often children complete the training, and their satisfaction with its ease of use. Researchers will also collect data on attention improvements during the four-week intervention. The study involves 20 children with SCD, with assessments including attention tests and parent reports to evaluate the program's feasibility and preliminary effects.

Feasibility and Efficacy of Attentional-Control Training in Sickle Cell Disease