---
_id: '6939'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: "                  Introduction: Many children and adolescents suffer from
    high-impact chronic pain. While preliminary evidence suggests that intensive interdisciplinary
    pain treatment is effective, there is limited post-treatment support. Individualized
    support through a pain management app may help close this gap. \r\nMethods: We
    conducted a multicenter randomized controlled trial with N = 453 youths with chronic
    pain aged 8-17 and their caregivers. Participants had access to the app MyBrainCity
    from admission until six months following discharge. Immediately after discharge,
    participants had access to either (1) app usage statistics (reference group),
    (2) plus push notifications and suggestions, (3) plus on-demand chat communication
    with a psychologist, or (4) plus psychologist-initiated chat communication. Data
    were collected up to nine months after discharge. Outcomes included the functional
    disability inventory, the Revised Anxiety and Depression Scale, and numeric rating
    scales to assess pain intensity. \r\nResults: The primary analysis showed no significant
    differences in functional impairment between groups nine months post-discharge
    (χ2(3)=6.122, p=.106). Secondary analyses revealed that patients in Groups 3 and
    4 showed significantly greater improvements in functional impairment compared
    to the reference group (-1.13 points, p<.001). Only patients in Group 4 demonstrated
    additional improvements in emotional burden (anxiety: -0.91 points, p<.001; depression:
    -0.72 points, p=.012). Patients in Group 2 had significantly greater reductions
    in both average (-0.24 points, p=.007) and maximum pain intensity (-0.33 points,
    p=.001) compared to the reference group. \r\nConclusions: Pediatric pain management
    apps may be most effective when designed to include individualized, personal support.
    Patients especially benefit from clinician-delivered feedback following discharge.\r\n
    \               "
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Amelie Florentine
  full_name: Schmidt, Amelie Florentine
  last_name: Schmidt
- first_name: Dorothee
  full_name: Meyer, Dorothee
  last_name: Meyer
- first_name: Lisa-Marie
  full_name: Rau, Lisa-Marie
  last_name: Rau
- first_name: Gerrit
  full_name: Hirschfeld, Gerrit
  id: '234690'
  last_name: Hirschfeld
  orcid: 0000-0003-2143-4564
  orcid_put_code_url: https://api.orcid.org/v2.0/0000-0003-2143-4564/work/216243804
- first_name: Michael
  full_name: Frosch, Michael
  last_name: Frosch
- first_name: Michael C.
  full_name: Frühwald, Michael C.
  last_name: Frühwald
- first_name: Rosemarie
  full_name: Ahnert, Rosemarie
  last_name: Ahnert
- first_name: Lea
  full_name: Höfel, Lea
  last_name: Höfel
- first_name: Magdalena
  full_name: Storf, Magdalena
  last_name: Storf
- first_name: Markus
  full_name: Blankenburg, Markus
  last_name: Blankenburg
- first_name: Kerstin
  full_name: Steinert, Kerstin
  last_name: Steinert
- first_name: Udo
  full_name: Schneider, Udo
  last_name: Schneider
- first_name: Ursula
  full_name: Marschall, Ursula
  last_name: Marschall
- first_name: Julia
  full_name: Wager, Julia
  last_name: Wager
- first_name: Boris
  full_name: Zernikow, Boris
  last_name: Zernikow
citation:
  alphadin: '<span style="font-variant:small-caps;"><span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Schmidt,
    Amelie Florentine</span> ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Meyer, Dorothee</span>
    ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Rau, Lisa-Marie</span> ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Hirschfeld,
    Gerrit</span> ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Frosch, Michael</span>
    ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Frühwald, Michael C.</span> ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Ahnert,
    Rosemarie</span> ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Höfel, Lea</span> ;
    u. a.</span>: Clinical effectiveness of different feedback intensities in a pain
    management app - A multicenter randomized controlled trial with youths with chronic
    pain and their caregivers. In: <i>Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics</i>, S. Karger
    AG (2026), S. 1–25'
  ama: Schmidt AF, Meyer D, Rau L-M, et al. Clinical effectiveness of different feedback
    intensities in a pain management app - A multicenter randomized controlled trial
    with youths with chronic pain and their caregivers. <i>Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics</i>.
    2026:1-25. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1159/000551681">10.1159/000551681</a>
  apa: Schmidt, A. F., Meyer, D., Rau, L.-M., Hirschfeld, G., Frosch, M., Frühwald,
    M. C., … Zernikow, B. (2026). Clinical effectiveness of different feedback intensities
    in a pain management app - A multicenter randomized controlled trial with youths
    with chronic pain and their caregivers. <i>Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics</i>,
    1–25. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1159/000551681">https://doi.org/10.1159/000551681</a>
  bibtex: '@article{Schmidt_Meyer_Rau_Hirschfeld_Frosch_Frühwald_Ahnert_Höfel_Storf_Blankenburg_et
    al._2026, title={Clinical effectiveness of different feedback intensities in a
    pain management app - A multicenter randomized controlled trial with youths with
    chronic pain and their caregivers}, DOI={<a href="https://doi.org/10.1159/000551681">10.1159/000551681</a>},
    journal={Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics}, publisher={S. Karger AG}, author={Schmidt,
    Amelie Florentine and Meyer, Dorothee and Rau, Lisa-Marie and Hirschfeld, Gerrit
    and Frosch, Michael and Frühwald, Michael C. and Ahnert, Rosemarie and Höfel,
    Lea and Storf, Magdalena and Blankenburg, Markus and et al.}, year={2026}, pages={1–25}
    }'
  chicago: Schmidt, Amelie Florentine, Dorothee Meyer, Lisa-Marie Rau, Gerrit Hirschfeld,
    Michael Frosch, Michael C. Frühwald, Rosemarie Ahnert, et al. “Clinical Effectiveness
    of Different Feedback Intensities in a Pain Management App - A Multicenter Randomized
    Controlled Trial with Youths with Chronic Pain and Their Caregivers.” <i>Psychotherapy
    and Psychosomatics</i>, 2026, 1–25. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1159/000551681">https://doi.org/10.1159/000551681</a>.
  ieee: A. F. Schmidt <i>et al.</i>, “Clinical effectiveness of different feedback
    intensities in a pain management app - A multicenter randomized controlled trial
    with youths with chronic pain and their caregivers,” <i>Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics</i>,
    pp. 1–25, 2026.
  mla: Schmidt, Amelie Florentine, et al. “Clinical Effectiveness of Different Feedback
    Intensities in a Pain Management App - A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial
    with Youths with Chronic Pain and Their Caregivers.” <i>Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics</i>,
    S. Karger AG, 2026, pp. 1–25, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1159/000551681">10.1159/000551681</a>.
  short: A.F. Schmidt, D. Meyer, L.-M. Rau, G. Hirschfeld, M. Frosch, M.C. Frühwald,
    R. Ahnert, L. Höfel, M. Storf, M. Blankenburg, K. Steinert, U. Schneider, U. Marschall,
    J. Wager, B. Zernikow, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (2026) 1–25.
date_created: 2026-05-30T20:47:48Z
date_updated: 2026-05-30T20:49:21Z
department:
- _id: 4b2dc5c9-bee3-11eb-b75f-ecc80f94fb21
doi: 10.1159/000551681
language:
- iso: eng
page: 1-25
publication: Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1423-0348
  issn:
  - 0033-3190
publication_status: published
publisher: S. Karger AG
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: Clinical effectiveness of different feedback intensities in a pain management
  app - A multicenter randomized controlled trial with youths with chronic pain and
  their caregivers
type: journal_article
user_id: '234690'
year: '2026'
...