Space For Children: improving mastery and reducing negative emotions about COVID-19 in youth via mobile interactive storytelling.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has been a complex event for children and adolescents, significantly impacting their daily activities. In this scenario, our study aims at verifying if "Space for Children," an ad-hoc developed game based on interactive storytelling about the pandemic, can increase mastery and reduces negative emotions about COVID-19. METHODS: The app Space for Children has been sponsored and spread online by email and social media platforms for a limited time period (from May 2021 to January 2022). Before and after the interactive storytelling, participants answered two questionnaires containing a couple of critical questions regarding their emotional state and their perceived mastery about COVID-19. RESULTS: Two hundred thirty-six participants (M=116; F=120) between 7 and 12 years old completed the Space for Children interactive experience. Our results show a significant effect of the game experience on emotional state and perceived mastery regarding COVID-19. Indeed, before the interactive storytelling unpleasant emotional states prevail (reported by 77% of participants) while after the game a clear prevalence of pleasant emotions emerges (reported by 68% of participants). Regarding perceived mastery, results show that self-reported very expert participants passed from 49% to 88%. All the results hold irrespective of age group and sex. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents preliminary findings that highlight the potential benefits of utilizing new technologies based on Interactive Storytelling for Children to effectively convey age-appropriate information about complex real-life events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, while also mitigating associated negative emotional responses.

Correction to: The Italian version of the Juvenile Arthritis Multidimensional Assessment Report (JAMAR).

The family name of author Francesco La Torre was incorrect in the published article. The correct family name should read as La Torre F.

The Italian version of the Juvenile Arthritis Multidimensional Assessment Report (JAMAR).

The Juvenile Arthritis Multidimensional Assessment Report (JAMAR) is a new parent/patient reported outcome measure that enables a thorough assessment of the disease status in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). We report the results of the cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the parent and patient versions of the JAMAR in the Italian language.The reading comprehension of the questionnaire was tested in 10 JIA parents and patients. Each participating centre was asked to collect demographic, clinical data and the JAMAR in 100 consecutive JIA patients or all consecutive patients seen in a 6-month period and to administer the JAMAR to 100 healthy children and their parents.The statistical validation phase explored descriptive statistics and the psychometric issues of the JAMAR: the 3 Likert assumptions, floor/ceiling effects, internal consistency, Cronbach's alpha, interscale correlations, test-retest reliability, and construct validity (convergent and discriminant validity).A total of 1296 JIA patients (7.2% systemic, 59.5% oligoarticular, 21.4% RF negative polyarthritis, 11.9% other categories) and 100 healthy children, were enrolled in 18 centres. The JAMAR components discriminated well healthy subjects from JIA patients except for the Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) Psychosocial Health (PsH) subscales. All JAMAR components revealed good psychometric performances.In conclusion, the Italian version of the JAMAR is a valid tool for the assessment of children with JIA and is suitable for use both in routine clinical practice and clinical research.

Seeking insights into the EPidemiology, treatment and Outcome of Childhood Arthritis through a multinational collaborative effort: Introduction of the EPOCA study.

The epidemiology of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is variable worldwide. In particular, a wide disparity exists in the prevalence of the diverse disease subtypes across different geographic areas. The therapeutic approach to JIA is not standardized and no established and widely accepted guidelines are available. In the past decade, there have been important progresses in the management of the disease, but the availability of the novel and costly biologic medications is not uniform throughout the world. This issue may have significant impact on disease prognosis, with children living in poorer countries being at greater risk of accumulating disease- and treatment-related damage than children followed in Western pediatric rheumatology centers. The multinational study of the EPidemiology, treatment and Outcome of Childhood Arthritis (EPOCA study) is aimed to obtain information on the frequency of JIA subtypes in different geographic areas, the therapeutic approaches adopted by pediatric rheumatologists practicing in diverse countries or continents, and the disease and health status of children with JIA currently followed worldwide. Parent- and child-reported outcomes are meant to be recorded through the administration of a new multidimensional questionnaire, the Juvenile Arthritis Multidimensional Assessment Report (JAMAR). The first step of the study is based on the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the questionnaire in the national language of each participating country. Each center is, then, asked to enroll a sample of consecutive JIA patients, who should undergo a retrospective assessment and a cross-sectional evaluation, including completion of the JAMAR, a standardized joint examination, and the assessment of articular and extra-articular damage. At the end of May 2012, 124 centers in 55 countries have agreed to participate in the study. The JAMAR has been or is currently being translated in 38 national languages. The target patient sample is more than 10,000 JIA children worldwide.

A new short and simple health-related quality of life measurement for paediatric rheumatic diseases: initial validation in juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a new short and simple measure of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). METHODS: The Paediatric Rheumatology Quality of Life Scale (PRQL) is a 10-item questionnaire that explores HRQL in two domains: physical health (PhH) and psychosocial health (PsH). Validation of the parent proxy report and child self-report versions of the instrument was accomplished by evaluating 472 JIA patients and approximately 800 healthy children. Validation analyses included assessment of feasibility, face and content validity; construct and discriminative ability; internal structure and consistency; test-retest reliability; responsiveness to clinical change; and minimal clinically important difference. RESULTS: The PRQL was found to be feasible and to possess both face and content validity. The PRQL score correlated in the predicted range with most of the other JIA outcome measures, thereby demonstrating good construct validity, and discriminated well between different levels of disease severity. Assessment of internal structure (factor analysis) revealed that the PhH and PsH subscales identify two unambiguously separated domains. The internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) was 0.86. The intraclass correlation coefficient for test-retest reliability was 0.91. The PRQL revealed fair responsiveness, with a standardized response mean of 0.67 in improved patients. Overall, the PRQL appeared to be more able to capture physical HRQL than psychosocial HRQL. CONCLUSION: The PRQL was found to possess good measurement properties and is, therefore, a valid instrument for the assessment of HRQL in children with JIA. This tool is primarily proposed for use in standard clinical care.