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CompletedNCT03835390Updated Sep 7, 2020

SIMDiscovery: The Benefits of Utilizing a Simulation Preparation Program for Spinal Fusion Surgery

An interventional study of SIMDiscovery in Scoliosis Idiopathic Adolescent, sponsored by Boston Children's Hospital. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 10 Years to 18 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2020-09-07.

Sponsored by Boston Children's Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
22
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
10 Years to 18 Years
Sex
All
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Study summary

This is a pilot study aiming to examine preliminary effectiveness of a preparation program which includes simulation (SIMDiscovery) in reducing anxiety and increasing feelings of preparedness among parents and their children who will undergo spinal fusion surgery. SIMDiscovery is an experiential learning preparation program which aims to educate children and families about different medical procedures through simulation play.

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Conditions studied

  • Scoliosis Idiopathic Adolescent

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Keywords

  • Anxiety
  • Preparedness
  • Spinal Fusion
03

In context

Scoliosis

594 studies on the registry are indexed under Scoliosis; 139 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 22 is below the median of 44 across 344 interventional studies indexed under Scoliosis.

Browse Scoliosis studies →

Lead sponsor

Boston Children's Hospital is the lead sponsor of 598 studies on the registry; 151 are open to participants now.

Of its 31 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 18 (58%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
10 Years to 18 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Children and adolescents with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and their parent(s)
  • Spinal fusion surgery scheduled
  • Developmental Age range (10+; no upper age range)
  • Males and females of all races and ethnicities
  • English-speaking families (although English need not be their primary language)
  • Both patient and caregiver (when patient is under 18 years of age) are able to attend SIMDiscovery program

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

    • Other significant chronic medical conditions (e.g., spina bifida, muscular dystrophy)
  • Anterior surgical access
  • ICU stay expected post-op
  • Cognitive functioning level below 10yo
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Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
22 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Intervention

    Participants who agree to participate in the SIMDiscovery program will be asked if they would like to participate in the research. If they consent, they will fill out pre- and post-questionnaires concerning quality of life, anxiety levels concerning the surgery, and a knowledge assessment.

    Behavioral: SIMDiscovery

Interventions

  • BehavioralSIMDiscovery

    The SIMDiscovery program consists of nine stations that were designed to mirror the different stages of the perioperative process. The stations mirror the different stages of the surgical process and provide patients and their families with education regarding what they can anticipate during each aspect of the intervention.

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change from Parent's and Adolescent's Baseline Anxiety at 1 month using the State/Trait Anxiety Inventory

    Parent and adolescent anxiety will be measured at baseline utilizing the State/Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) (Spielberger et al., 1983). The STAI consists of 40 items total-20 items assessing trait anxiety (general proneness to anxious behavior) and 20 items assessing state anxiety (a current emotional state). All items are scored using a four-point scale (e.g., ranging from "Almost Never" to "Almost Always"). Scores can range from 20 to 80 with higher scores indicating greater anxiety. This measure has been validated for use with individuals ages 15 and above (Julian, 2011). If a patient is 15 years of age or above, they will complete the STAI, rather than the STAIC (see below).

    Time frame: Baseline, 1 month

  2. Change from Child's Baseline Anxiety at 1 month using the State/Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children

    Child anxiety will be assessed utilizing the State/Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) (Spielberger \& Edwards, 1973). Similar to the STAI, the STAIC consists of 20 items assessing state anxiety and 20 items assessing trait anxiety. Items are scored using a four-point scale and higher scores indicate greater anxiety. The STAIC has been validated for use with children up to age 15 years (Spielberger \& Edwards, 1973).

    Time frame: Baseline, 1 month

  3. Change from Parent's Baseline Feelings of Preparedness at 1 month using Caregiver Preparedness Scale

    Parent preparedness will be measured using the Caregiver Preparedness Scale (CPS) (Archbold, et al., 1990). This scale has been validated for use with adult caregivers (Petruzzo et al., 2017; Pucciarelli et al., 2014). The CPS includes eight items assessing caregiver preparedness to care for a patient's physical and emotional needs, setting up services, coping with the stress of caregiving, making caregiving activities pleasant for the caregiver and patient, responding and managing emergencies, obtaining assistance from the health care system, and overall preparedness. Each item is rated from 0 (not at all prepared) to 4 (Very well prepared). Items are summed for a total score that ranges from 0 to 32, with higher scores indicating feeling better prepared for the caregiving role.

    Time frame: Baseline, 1 month

  4. Change from Child's Baseline Feelings of Preparedness at 1 month using a modified Caregiver Preparedness Scale

    In order to examine themes similar to parent preparedness but from the patient's perspective, we will administer a measure similar to the CPS (above) for children and adolescent patients. This measure has not been validated; rather, based on the validity of the CPS used to assess parent preparedness, we modified the measure to assess patients' perception of their ability to care for or advocate for themselves regarding their physical and emotional needs prior to the surgery. (Archbold, et al., 1990). All patients will complete this measure. This measure consists of six questions and similar to the CPS, each item is rated from 0 (not at all prepared) to 4 (Very well prepared). Items are summed for a total score that ranges from 0 to 24, with higher scores indicating more feelings of preparedness for the surgery.

    Time frame: Baseline, 1 month

Secondary outcomes

  1. Knowledge of Perioperative Procedures measured by Spinal Fusion Knowledge Assessment

    Facts that patients learn through the preoperative appointment and the SIMDiscovery program measured by the Spine Fusion Knowledge Assessment developed by our team

    Time frame: Baseline, 1 month

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Study locations

1 site
  • Boston Children's Hospital
    Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
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References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 7, 2020, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03835390
Lead sponsor
Boston Children's Hospital
Responsible party
Daniel Hedequist (Principle Investigator, Boston Children's Hospital) — Principal investigator
First posted
Feb 8, 2019
Start date
Feb 22, 2019
Primary completion
Sep 9, 2019
Completion
Oct 1, 2019
Last update
Sep 7, 2020

Study contacts

Daniel Hedequist, MD
principal investigator · Boston Children's Hospital
Lauren Potthoff, PhD
principal investigator · Boston Children's Hospital

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Sep 2020. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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