Trial results for a study investigating Peer i-Coaching for activated self-management in adolescents and young adults with chronic conditions, including Type 1 Diabetes, were posted on ClinicalTrials.gov on 2025-07-28. The intervention showed a statistically significant improvement in self-management with a p-value of 0.0034 among 222 participants.
Background
Adolescents and young adults living with chronic conditions face unique challenges in managing their health. Effective self-management is crucial for maintaining well-being, preventing complications, and improving long-term health outcomes. Conditions such as Type 1 Diabetes, Sickle Cell Disease, Chronic Kidney Diseases, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Childhood Cancer, and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases require consistent self-care and adherence to complex treatment regimens. Peer support interventions, like i-coaching, aim to empower individuals by leveraging shared experiences and providing practical guidance, potentially enhancing their ability to manage their conditions actively.
Trial design
This completed study, designated as Phase NA, enrolled 222 participants to test the efficacy of a peer support coaching intervention. The trial focused on adolescents and young adults with childhood onset chronic conditions, specifically listing Sickle Cell Disease, Chronic Kidney Diseases, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Childhood Cancer, and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, among others such as Type 1 Diabetes. The intervention involved a peer i-coaching program designed to improve activated chronic illness self-management, which was compared against an attention control group.
Key results
The trial reported key measurements related to self-management and patient activation:
- Change in Self-management as Measured by the Partners in Health Scale (score on a scale):
- For the PiCASO Intervention Group, mean scores ranged from 6.7 (Standard Deviation 0.7) to 7.1 (Standard Deviation 0.8) over the study period.
- For the Attention Control Group, mean scores ranged from 6.5 (Standard Deviation 0.8) to 6.6 (Standard Deviation 0.9) over the study period.
- Patient Activation as Measured by the Patient Activation Measure (PAM-13) (score on a scale):
- The PiCASO Intervention Group had a mean score of 70.0 (Standard Deviation 8.4).
- The Attention Control Group had a mean score of 68.8 (Standard Deviation 8.7).
A multi-level mixed effects model for longitudinal data comparing treatment group difference in trajectory across 12 months for self-management showed a statistically significant difference with a p-value of 0.0034. Other analyses, including those for patient activation, did not show statistically significant differences, with p-values such as 0.5137, 0.4107, 0.1708, and 0.7982.
What this means
The findings suggest that a peer i-coaching intervention can significantly improve self-management skills in adolescents and young adults living with various chronic conditions. The statistically significant improvement in self-management scores indicates that this type of support may be a valuable addition to existing care strategies, potentially empowering patients to take a more active role in their health. While improvements in patient activation were observed numerically, they did not reach statistical significance in this study. This highlights the potential for targeted peer support to enhance specific aspects of chronic illness management.
Source
The information regarding these trial results was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a public database of clinical studies. The results for the study NCT03938324, titled "Peer i-Coaching for Activated Self-Management Optimization in Adolescents and Young Adults With Chronic Conditions", were posted on 2025-07-28 on clinicaltrials.gov.