A Randomised Controlled Trial Testing the Efficacy of an Educational Website About Functional Abdominal Pain for Children and Adolescents

article A Randomised Controlled Trial Testing the Efficacy of an Educational Website About Functional Abdominal Pain for Children and Adolescents published yes Verena Neß author Clarissa Humberg author Lisa‐Marie Rau author Leandra Eidt author Thomas Berger author Martin Claßen author Nils Christian Syring author Jens Berrang author Christine Vietor author Stephan Buderus author Gerrit Hirschfeld author 2346900000-0003-2143-4564 Christina Becker‐Emden author Julia Wager author 4b2dc5c9-bee3-11eb-b75f-ecc80f94fb21 department Methods - In a multicenter randomised controlled trial (RCT), patients with FAP ( N = 166, age 5–17 years, M = 10.8, SD = 3.31; 53.6% female) and their parents were randomly assigned to an intervention group (IG: access to the website before the first measurement) or a control group (CG: no access to the website during data collection). The primary outcome was health literacy (knowledge and health behaviour) and secondary outcomes were abdominal pain symptoms and the physician‐patient/parent interactions. Group differences were analysed using t ‐tests and multilevel models. Results - Patients in the IG who visited the website demonstrated significantly higher initial knowledge scores compared to the CG. Moreover, they reported significantly less pain‐related disability across three assessments over 3 months. Parents who visited the website rated the physician‐parent interaction significantly more positively than those in the CG. Conclusions - The educational website efficiently increased patient knowledge about FAP and improved certain pain‐related behaviours. It serves as an effective tool in conveying information about FAP in clinical practice. Future applications could extend to preventive measures in schools and other settings. Significance Statement - The educational website about functional abdominal pain is effective in transferring knowledge, reducing pain‐related disability, and improving physician‐parent interactions. It can support physicians in day‐to‐day clinical practice by referring patients to the website for further information and might be extended as a preventive measure in schools. Wiley2026 eng European Journal of Pain 1090-3801 1532-214910.1002/ejp.70249 303 V. Neß, C. Humberg, L. Rau, L. Eidt, T. Berger, M. Claßen, N.C. Syring, J. Berrang, C. Vietor, S. Buderus, G. Hirschfeld, C. Becker‐Emden, J. Wager, European Journal of Pain 30 (2026). Neß, Verena, Clarissa Humberg, Lisa‐Marie Rau, Leandra Eidt, Thomas Berger, Martin Claßen, Nils Christian Syring, et al. “A Randomised Controlled Trial Testing the Efficacy of an Educational Website About Functional Abdominal Pain for Children and Adolescents.” European Journal of Pain 30, no. 3 (2026). <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ejp.70249">https://doi.org/10.1002/ejp.70249</a>. Neß V, Humberg C, Rau L, et al. A Randomised Controlled Trial Testing the Efficacy of an Educational Website About Functional Abdominal Pain for Children and Adolescents. European Journal of Pain. 2026;30(3). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ejp.70249">10.1002/ejp.70249</a> Neß, Verena, et al. “A Randomised Controlled Trial Testing the Efficacy of an Educational Website About Functional Abdominal Pain for Children and Adolescents.” European Journal of Pain, vol. 30, no. 3, Wiley, 2026, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ejp.70249">10.1002/ejp.70249</a>. V. Neß et al., “A Randomised Controlled Trial Testing the Efficacy of an Educational Website About Functional Abdominal Pain for Children and Adolescents,” European Journal of Pain, vol. 30, no. 3, 2026. Neß, V., Humberg, C., Rau, L., Eidt, L., Berger, T., Claßen, M., … Wager, J. (2026). A Randomised Controlled Trial Testing the Efficacy of an Educational Website About Functional Abdominal Pain for Children and Adolescents. European Journal of Pain, 30(3). <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ejp.70249">https://doi.org/10.1002/ejp.70249</a> @article{Neß_Humberg_Rau_Eidt_Berger_Claßen_Syring_Berrang_Vietor_Buderus_et al._2026, title={A Randomised Controlled Trial Testing the Efficacy of an Educational Website About Functional Abdominal Pain for Children and Adolescents}, volume={30}, DOI={<a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ejp.70249">10.1002/ejp.70249</a>}, number={3}, journal={European Journal of Pain}, publisher={Wiley}, author={Neß, Verena and Humberg, Clarissa and Rau, Lisa‐Marie and Eidt, Leandra and Berger, Thomas and Claßen, Martin and Syring, Nils Christian and Berrang, Jens and Vietor, Christine and Buderus, Stephan and et al.}, year={2026} } Neß, Verena ; Humberg, Clarissa ; Rau, Lisa‐Marie ; Eidt, Leandra ; Berger, Thomas ; Claßen, Martin ; Syring, Nils Christian ; Berrang, Jens ; u. a.: A Randomised Controlled Trial Testing the Efficacy of an Educational Website About Functional Abdominal Pain for Children and Adolescents. In: European Journal of Pain Bd. 30, Wiley (2026), Nr. 3 69402026-05-30T20:49:12Z2026-05-30T20:49:17Z