Click and connect - a virtual group for young people with cystic fibrosis transitioning to high school

ABSTRACT

Objectives: COVID-19 brought a huge change in working practices. The increase in available technology within the NHS opened up opportunities for engaging online with groups of patients with CF which previously wouldn’t have been possible. Transition points are key in the development of young people (YP), even more so in YP with chronic illness (Reed-Knight, 2014). Moving to high school is one of the first transition points a YP will hit, but in 2020 this was interrupted by COVID-19. Methods: ‘Click and Connect’was developed to determine the feasibility of online groups for YP with CF.We designed a closed, online group over 4 × 1 hour sessions. The group was facilitated by two qualified Clinical Psychologists, and a trainee Clinical Psychologist. Group sessions covered Introductions and Ground rules;Stress and Strategies;Emotions and wellbeing;and Problem-solving skills. Sessions were structured to provide information, enable discussion, as well as practical ‘hands-on’ tasks. Packs were posted out each week with all materials required for each session. Results: 9 YP with CF were invited to the group, and 7 joined in total. The platform Zoom was used as it offered the best functions for group work whilst maintaining security. Parents consented to their children participating in the group;all correspondence was sent via the parents. Formal measures were not collected;instead we used the platform mentimeter to gauge feedback from the YP at the end of each session. Feedback from the YP was consistently positive. Conclusion: Despite some reservations about working online, and concerns over YP engagement, the online platform allowed more engagement than perhaps face-to-face might have. The YP appeared happy and comfortable working online, and functions such as the ‘chat’ allowed those who perhaps were wary of talking on camera to interact in the sessions. Following the success of this group, we will be further developing virtual groups for YP with CF.