SBIR/STTR Award attributes
Sickle cell diseaseSCDis the most common inherited blood disorder in the U Sand disproportionately affects African Americans and HispanicsApproximatelyU Schildren are born with SCD annuallySCD results from abnormal hemoglobin and causes red blood cellsRBCsto become misshapedsickle shapedSickled cells can block the flow of blood in small arteries causing tissue and organ damage and other lifethreatening comorbiditiesSCD complications can be serious and have a significant impact upon well being and quality of lifePain is the hallmark symptom associated with SCDand is the most common clinical problem seen in children and the number one cause of SCD related hospital admissionsIf left untreatedthese painful episodes can result in morbidity and mortalityAccurate assessment of pain specifierstypefrequencyand intensity of paincan help with ameliorating pain quickly and effectivelyDespite children being accurate self reporters of their painstrategies which are effective and engaging to assist with pain identification and communication of pain are lackingIn a Phase I SBIRour team examined the feasibility and acceptability of a gamified tablet applicationPinpointintended to encourage teens to talk about and assess their SCD painThe Phase I specific aims werework with an Expert Advisory BoardEABof experts to develop a new pain assessment toolPATto engage adolescent SCD patientsimprove pain specification by patientsand improve pain management by cliniciansconduct cognitive interviews and focus groups withyear old SCD patients to guide and refine development of app contentdesignand aesthetics to fully develop a functioning prototypeconduct usability testing withyear old SCD patients to assess functionalitynavigationand satisfactionconduct cognitive interviews with medical providers to provide input on app contentperceived barriers to useand its potential for clinical use and integration to inform future implementationanddevelop a specifications document to outline the Phase II development planDeliverables were met and feasibility was confirmed by the EABThe proposed Phase II project willdevelop a fully programmedinteractive Pinpoint app consisting ofmodules addressing pain identification and communicationconduct usability testing of Pinpoint to evaluate the user interfaceease of useand perceived barriers in order to optimize the app prior to large scale evaluationnandtest the full app withyear olds with SCDnusing a within subjects design to evaluate changes inaknowledge acquisition for communicating about pain and types of painbthe Pain AssessmentcSCD general knowledge and selfefficacydfamily cohesionandeapp usageOverallthe proposed project has the potential to significantly impact the health of SCD teens by providing important skill acquisition for communicating about and identifying painThis project is innovative and timelyPinpoint will be the first tablet app to identify and translate specific pain types for SCD into a gamified app using applied gamification principles Sickle cell diseaseSCDis a common genetic disorder characterized by episodes of painyet programs to assist SCD adolescents with better identification and communication about pain are lackingResearch shows that interactive gaming technology can enhance adolescentslearningand can be especially effective in delivering health related messages and tools to improve self carePinpoint is an interactive gaming app that will be tested in a Phase II project to determine whether the app assists SCD teens with improving their communication and identification skills for pain self report
