Improving Self-Management and Daily Functioning in Adolescents and Young Adults with Sickle Cell Disease Using the SCThrive Virtual Program

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating a behavioral self-management program called SCThrive for adolescents and young adults aged 13 to 21 with sickle cell disease SCD. The study aims to see if SCThrive improves patient activation, self-management behaviors, daily functioning, and reduces emergency room visits compared to a standard care approach with educational text messages. The research also explores how social factors like stigma and access to care affect treatment outcomes. SCThrive is an 8-week virtual group intervention supported by a daily-use mobile app designed to enhance self-management skills. Participants are randomly assigned either to SCThrive or to the control group receiving usual care plus seven educational text messages about SCD. The study includes pre-treatment, post-treatment, and follow-up assessments to measure changes over time. Participants will complete surveys on patient activation, self-management behaviors, daily functioning, and quality of life before starting the intervention, right after finishing, and again 3 to 4 months later. Emergency room visits are tracked for six months before and after treatment. This approach helps researchers understand both immediate and lasting effects of the intervention while monitoring participant safety and engagement throughout the study period.

A Socio-ecological Approach for Improving Self-management in Adolescents With SCD