Browsing by Author "Chomistek, Kelsey"

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    Development and Acceptability of an Adolescent Self-Management Program for Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
    (2020-09-04) Chomistek, Kelsey; Schmeling, Heinrike; Barnabé, Cheryl Carmelle Marie; Santana, Maria Jose; Stinson, Jennifer N.
    Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a chronic inflammatory disease in children diagnosed under the age of 16 years. The overarching aim of this thesis was to develop and evaluate the acceptability of a self-management program (SMP) for adolescents with JIA. A systematized review of literature was conducted to understand the effectiveness of pre-existing self-management interventions for adolescents with JIA. The findings of this review provided insight into the key elements of our SMP, including the creation of a multicomponent and multisession intervention. In the development phase, the content, format, and structure of our program was determined using a previously completed needs assessment for adolescents with JIA and additional input from adolescents with JIA and interdisciplinary pediatric rheumatology health professionals at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. The program incorporated knowledge from the Public Health Ontario Program Planner framework and Lorig’s self-management theory. Semi-structured focus groups were conducted with adolescents with JIA and healthcare providers to examine the acceptability of the SMP. Finally, thematic analysis of the focus groups was performed to evaluate the acceptability of the program. Findings from the qualitative phase revealed that adolescents and healthcare providers appreciated the program. Participants provided valuable recommendations to improve its structure, design aesthetics, and content prior to conducting future feasibility and effectiveness trials. The findings from this thesis contribute to existing research on the development and acceptability of group-based, in-person, and videoconference SMP for adolescents with JIA and could inform future feasibility and effectiveness trials.