Rehabilitation Research and Training Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Interventions--Teen Online Problem Solving Study

Summary

This study will evaluate the effectiveness of an Internet-based psychosocial treatment in improving problem-solving, communication skills, stress management strategies, and coping among teens who have had a traumatic brain injury and their families.

Conditions

• Traumatic Brain Injury

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Teen Online Problem Solving (TOPS)

The TOPS program has 10 sessions that provide training in stress management, problem solving, communication, and social skills to all enrolled families, while the remaining 6 sessions address content related to the stressors and burdens of individual families. Each self-guided online session includes real adolescents talking about how TBI affected them, content regarding the skill, video clips showing adolescents and/or families modeling the skill, and exercises giving the family an opportunity to practice the skill. After the completion of the self-guided web pages, the family will meet with the therapist via videoconference; the therapist will review the exercises and help the family implement the problem-solving process with a problem or goal identified by the family.

BEHAVIORAL

Teen Online Problem Solving--Teen Only (TOPS-TO)

TOPS-TO targets the same skills as TOPS and includes largely the same website and intervention content. However, it differs with respect to the extent of family involvement in the sessions. In TOPS-TO, sessions will be conducted with the child or adolescent alone, rather than with the family as whole. Parents will be given access to the TOPS-TO website content via their own password protected site so they will understand the skills that their child is learning. However, only the adolescent, and not the parents, will participate in the synchronous videoconferences with the therapist.

BEHAVIORAL

Internet Resources Comparison (IRC)

Families in the IRC group will also receive a computer, printer, and high-speed internet access if they do not currently have these. Additionally, IRC families receive access to a home page of brain injury resources and links (identical to those given on the TOPS and TOPS-TO homepage) but will not be able to access specific session content. This will enable us to equate the groups with respect to access to the information and resources available on the Web.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• MetroHealth Medical Center

  collaborator OTHER

• Nationwide Children's Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Children's Hospital Colorado

  collaborator OTHER

• Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Sharil L Wade, PhD · Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

11 Years

Max Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2010-03-31

Primary Completion

2015-12-31

Completion

2015-12-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations