Power Over Pain Portal: A Stepped-care Virtual Solution to Deliver Early Intervention to Canadian Youth With Chronic Pain

Power Over Pain Portal: A Stepped-care Virtual Solution to Deliver Early Intervention to Canadian Youth With Chronic Pain

The COVID-19 pandemic is presenting one of the greatest threats to youth mental health seen in generations. Pain is one of the most common symptoms of extreme stress in youth. In 2020, the investigators created an online "stepped-care" program called the Power over Pain Portal. Stepped care is a promising way to improve access to CP care. Stepped care tailors care based on a person's symptom severity. Like a ladder, a person must start with one type of care then "step up" or "step down" to more or less intense care depending on need. The investigators also summarized all online pain management programs for youth to find the best resources to embed into the Portal. The investigators will pilot-test the Portal with youth to ensure it can be implemented effectively and will be clinically beneficial. The investigators will recruit 100 youth with CP to use the Portal for 2 months and see how they interact with the features and if it helps to improve their pain and mental health. The investigators will include a mixture of youth who represent different ages, sexes, genders, sexual orientations, races, dwellings, and school/employment status.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Experience chronic pain
• Speak and read English
• Access to Internet / Smartphone (or will be loaned study phone with data plan)
• Intend to use the portal for 2 months

Exclusion Criteria:

• Youth self-reports:
• Receiving tertiary care or are on waitlists for tertiary care paediatric chronic pain programs
• Have moderate to severe cognitive impairment that may impact their ability to understand and use the Power over Pain Portal or complete self-reported outcomes
• Have untreated major psychiatric illness (e.g., anorexia, psychosis) and/or active suicidality at the time of screening