Peer Support for Adolescents and Emerging Adults With Sickle Cell Pain (PRESENCE)

January 5, 2026 updated by: Charles Jonassaint, University of Pittsburgh

Peer Support for Adolescents and Emerging Adults With Sickle Cell Pain: Promoting Engagement in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

The study, known as the Peer suppoRt for adolescents and Emerging adults with Sickle cell pain: promoting ENgagement in Cognitive behavioral thErapy (PRESENCE), aims to determine the effectiveness of digital CBT in reducing pain, opioid use, and healthcare utilization among AYAs with SCD. It also seeks to understand the role of personalized peer support in enhancing engagement and outcomes of digital CBT interventions.

By leveraging existing infrastructure for delivering virtual peer support interventions, tailored digital CBT programs for individuals with SCD, and partnerships with CBOs, the study aims to provide valuable insights into the feasibility and effectiveness of digital CBT as a pain management strategy for this vulnerable population.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The PRESENCE study aims to address the pressing issue of inadequate pain management for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with sickle cell disease (SCD). Despite pain being the primary clinical symptom of SCD, effective treatment options are limited, leading to repeated hospitalizations and negative impacts on patients' physical and mental well-being. Opioids, the primary treatment for chronic SCD pain, often fail to provide long-term relief and can result in harmful consequences.

Recognizing the need for alternative approaches, the study hopes to investigate the effectiveness of digital cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), both with and without personalized peer support delivered through community-based organizations (CBOs). CBT is a well-established method for managing pain in the general population, and digital CBT has shown promise in improving outcomes for individuals with chronic conditions.

The study will involve a multisite, randomized controlled trial with 470 AYAs with SCD who have experienced frequent pain over the past three months. Participants will be randomized into one of three groups:

  1. Digital CBT with weekly one-on-one peer support (CBT+peer)
  2. Digital CBT without peer support (self-guided CBT)
  3. Usual care (UC)

The primary hypotheses of the study are:

Hypothesis 1. AYAs receiving any digital CBT (CBT + peer or self-guided CBT) will have greater improvements in primary pain outcomes (PEG-3 pain intensity and pain interference), and larger decreases in secondary pain outcomes (mean daily pain intensity, pain days, average weekly opioid dose, emergency department visits, hospitalizations) and in psychological outcomes (MoSCS internalized stigma, SCSES sickle cell self-efficacy, PHQ-9M depression, GAD-7 anxiety) than AYAs receiving UC at 6 months post initiation of intervention.

Hypothesis 2. AYAs receiving CBT + peer will have greater improvements in the primary and secondary outcomes described above at 6 months, and greater app engagement, than AYAs receiving self-guided CBT.

This study will have the following assessment time points.

  • Baseline = pre-randomization baseline measures

    o Rescreen if SCD verification is not provided within 30 days

  • At Randomization = Pain and mood diary using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) assessed daily for a total of 14 days with the first entry occuring immediately prior to randomization/intervention start and then continuing daily post-randomization
  • 3-month = end of intervention period assessment 90 days (3 months) post -randomization
  • 6-month = primary endpoint 180 days (6 months) post-randomization
  • 12-month = long-term endpoint 365 days (12 months) post-randomization

The study intervention and EMA data collection is performed via an iOS and Android application called CaRISMA that will be called "the app" or the "CaRISMA app" hereafter.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

470

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Alabama
      • Mobile, Alabama, United States, 36617
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90095
        • Recruiting
        • UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital Ronald Reagan Hospital
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Satiro De Oliveira, MD
    • Connecticut
      • Hartford, Connecticut, United States, 06106
        • Recruiting
        • Connecticut Children's Medical Center
        • Principal Investigator:
          • William Zempsky, MD
        • Contact:
    • Georgia
      • Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30345
        • Recruiting
        • Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Carlton Dampier, MD
    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60611
        • Recruiting
        • Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Robert Liem, MD
        • Contact:
    • Michigan
      • Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109-1079
        • Recruiting
        • The Regents of the University of Michigan
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Eric Scott, PhD
    • New Jersey
      • Newark, New Jersey, United States, 07103
        • Recruiting
        • Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Ashwin Sridharan, MD
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10065
        • Recruiting
        • Weil Cornell Medical College
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Maria DeSancho, MD
      • Rochester, New York, United States, 14642
        • Recruiting
        • University of Rochester Medical Center
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Suzie Noronha, MD
    • North Carolina
      • Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27106
        • Recruiting
        • Wake Forest Baptist Hospital
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Alex George, MD
      • Greenville, North Carolina, United States, 27834
        • Recruiting
        • East Carolina University Health Medical Center
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Darla Liles, MD
        • Contact:
    • Pennsylvania
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15224
        • Recruiting
        • UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Dr. Cheryl Hillery, MD
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213
        • Recruiting
        • UPMC University of Pittsburgh Classical Hematology Adult Clinic
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Laura De Castro, MD
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Ana Radovic, MD
    • Virginia
      • Richmond, Virginia, United States, 23284
        • Recruiting
        • Virginia Commonwealth University
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Wally Smith, MD
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Aged 16 to 30 years of age at time of enrollment
  2. Sickle Cell Disease diagnosis of any genotype based on referral or documentation
  3. Reports chronic pain (≥4 days/week for past 3 months or more) OR A) Being prescribed pain medication to be taken (≥4 days/week for past 3 months or more) OR B) Taking pain medication (≥4 days/week for past 3 months or more) OR C) Receiving non-pharmaceutical pain treatment (≥4 days/week for past 3 months or more)
  4. Access to an iOS or Android mobile device with internet access

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Unable to speak or read English
  2. Prior hematopoietic stem cell transplant for sickle cell disease

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: CBT w/ Health Coach
Group will utilize the Presence app to undergo self CBT for EMA, but with addition of peer health coaches.
Behavioral: CBT+ Health coach
Participants will complete the pre-enrollment clinical screening measures (PHQ-9M, GAD-7, and PEG-3) and will repeat those assessments, as well as outcome assessments, at 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. Participants in CBT w/ Health coach group will engage with the CaRISMA app to complete a daily pain and mood e-diary, daily record of opiate use, and weekly assessment of pain via the Painimation tool. In addition participants will have weekly contact with a peer health coach.
Other Names:
  • CBT+peer
Active Comparator: CBT w/o Health coach (self-guided)
Group will utilize the Presence app to undergo self-guided CBT for EMA, but without peer health coaches.
Behavioral: CBT w/o Health Coach ( self-guided)
Participants will complete the pre-enrollment clinical screening measures (PHQ-9M, GAD-7, and PEG-3) and will repeat those assessments, as well as outcome assessments, at 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. Participants CBT w/o Health coach groups will engage with the CaRISMA app to complete a daily pain and mood e-diary, daily record of opiate use, and weekly assessment of pain via the Painimation tool.
Active Comparator: Usual Care with no access to CBT
Participants in the UC group will have access to CaRISMA app to complete a daily pain and mood e-diary, daily record of opiate use, and weekly assessment of pain via the Painimation tool. All other care will be at the discretion of their treating provider
Behavioral: Usual Care
Participants will complete the pre-enrollment clinical screening measures (PHQ-9M, GAD-7, and PEG-3) and will repeat those assessments, as well as outcome assessments, at 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. Participants in the UC group will be asked to engage with the CaRISMA app to complete a daily pain and mood e-diary, daily record of opiate use, and weekly assessment of pain via the Painimation tool. All other care will be at the discretion of their treating provider

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Determine the effectiveness of any digital CBT (CBT + peer or self-guided CBT) vs usual care (UC) to improve pain intensity for AYAs with SCD and chronic pain
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 months
Mean change in pain intensity as measured by the Pain, Enjoyment of Life and General Activity (PEG-3) scale. Item 1 asks individuals to rate their pain, on average, over the past week, using a 0-10 rating scale.
Baseline and 6 months
Determine the effectiveness of any digital CBT (CBT + peer or self-guided CBT) vs usual care (UC) to improve pain interference for AYAs with SCD and chronic pain
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 months
Mean change in pain interference as measured by the PEG-3 items 2 and 3 that ask individuals to rate how pain has interfered with their enjoyment and general activities, in the past week, using a 0-10 rating scale.
Baseline and 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Determine the effectiveness of CBT+ peer vs. self-guided CBT to improve pain intensity for AYAs with SCD and chronic pain
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 months
Mean change in pain intensity as measured by the PEG-3
Baseline and 6 months
Determine the effectiveness of CBT+ peer vs. self-guided CBT to improve pain interference for AYAs with SCD and chronic pain
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 months
Mean change in pain interference as measured by the PEG-3
Baseline and 6 months
Determine the sustained effectiveness of any digital CBT (CBT + peer or self-guided CBT) vs UC to improve pain intensity for AYAs with SCD and chronic pain
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 months
Mean change in pain intensity as measured by the PEG-3
Baseline and 12 months
Determine the sustained effectiveness of any digital CBT (CBT + peer or self-guided CBT) vs UC to improve pain interference for AYAs with SCD and chronic pain
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 months
Mean change in pain interference as measured by the PEG-3
Baseline and 12 months
Determine the sustained effectiveness of CBT+ peer vs self-guided CBT to improve pain intensity of AYAs with SCD and chronic pain
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 Months
Mean change in pain intensity as measured by the PEG-3
Baseline and 12 Months
Determine the sustained effectiveness of CBT+ peer vs self-guided CBT to improve pain interferences of AYAs with SCD and chronic pain
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 Months
Mean change in pain interference as measured by the PEG-3
Baseline and 12 Months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Pittsburgh

Collaborators

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Charles Jonassaint, PhD, University of Pittsburgh
  • Principal Investigator: Ana Radovic, MD, University of Pittsburgh
  • Principal Investigator: Alicia Colvin, PhD, University of Pittsburgh

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

March 10, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 15, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 15, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

April 18, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 7, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 5, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • STUDY24040171
  • UG3HL165839 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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