AUTHOR=Miró Jordi , Sampietro Ariadna , Monterde Sonia , Ingelmo Pablo , Wicksell Rikard K. , Nolla Carme , Alonso Mercedes , Lázaro Juan José , Martínez Ernesto , Rubio Paloma , Sánchez Armando , Sánchez Vanessa , Vázquez Alvaro , de la Vega Rocío , Reinoso-Barbero Francisco 

TITLE=Development, implementation and evaluation of a digital treatment for adolescents with chronic pain: a protocol for a multi-phase study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Digital Health

VOLUME=Volume 7 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/digital-health/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2025.1555733

DOI=10.3389/fdgth.2025.1555733

ISSN=2673-253X

ABSTRACT=Chronic pain in adolescents is an increasing public health concern with a significant physical, psychological, and social impact. This study aims to develop, implement, and evaluate DigiDOL-Ad, a digital psychosocial treatment for adolescents with chronic pain, supplemented by dedicated websites for their parents and teachers. This multicenter study will be conducted in four phases: (1) Development of the intervention framework and foundational planning; (2) Focus groups with adolescents with chronic pain, their parents, teachers, healthcare professionals and health authorities to identify specific needs and tailor the psychosocial treatment and related components; (3) Iterative usability testing of the digital treatment, using an a hermeneutical circle methodology to refine the design based on participant feedback; and (4) Evaluation of DigiDOL-Ad through a pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 3-month follow-up assessment. DigiDOL-Ad has the potential to improve the quality of life for adolescents with chronic pain. By leveraging digital health technologies, this innovative approach could establish a new benchmark for treating adolescents with chronic pain, emphasizing interdisciplinary and stakeholder-driven care.Clinical Trial Registrationclinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT06765200.