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Resilience and Coping in a Rare Skeletal Disease Population to Face Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak Distress: a Longitudinal Study

Exploring Resilience and Coping Strategies of Young Population in Response to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Outbreak: a Longitudinal Study in a Cohort of Patients Affected by Rare Skeletal Disorders.

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04844697
Acronym
RELOAD
Enrollment
15
Registered
2021-04-14
Start date
2021-05-12
Completion date
2022-12-31
Last updated
2023-03-01

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Maffucci Syndrome, Multiple Osteochondroma, Ollier Disease, Osteogenesis Imperfecta

Keywords

COVID-19, Psychological Distress, e-Health, Children, Adolescents, Young Adults, Coping Strategies, Rare Diseases, Focus group

Brief summary

In the COVID-19 outbreak context, people living with rare diseases have been highly troubled with anxiety, loneliness, and depression. The project evaluates resilience and coping strategies to address pandemic impact by discussion in a dedicated focus group using a web-based platform. The goal is to improve, in a sustainable manner, the coping skills and psychological well-being of children, adolescents, and young adults affected by rare skeletal diseases.

Detailed description

March 11th, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic accordingly with the spread and size of the infection. The restrictions implemented by the governments have substantially changed people's lifestyles, facilitating the emergence of emotions such as fear, anxiety, and a sense of loneliness. The age groups most involved by these burdens have been childhood, adolescence, and young adults. These groups have experienced dramatic changes in their daily life in order the relational, educational, and social networks. Nonetheless, these links outline the ideal environment for the development of resilience and the promotion of coping strategies to face traumatic events. These lifestyle challenges and their consequences are even more evident in the context of the rare diseases since the outbreak containment measures have emphasized the troubles with which people affected by these conditions are daily forced to confront, in terms of access to care and treatments, resulting in increased stress and anxiety. The current phase represents a sensitive step for the resumption of the activities in charge of the health and social service aimed at the citizens and especially to people with special needs, such as people suffering from rare diseases. The pandemic experience has promoted new forms of meeting and contact between individuals using web-based platforms, playing a fundamental role in preserving the community and sociality dimensions. In this scenario, the rare diseases could be an attractive model since the pandemic impinges over their bio-psycho-social characteristics at different levels. Resilience and coping strategies adopted by rare diseases patients could configure as an exemplum to face the psychological distress resulting from anti-pandemic measures, suggesting new approaches of taking charge by health service. This study evaluates resilience and coping strategies to address pandemic impact by discussion in a dedicated focus group using a web-based platform. The goal is to improve, in a sustainable manner, the coping skills and psychological well-being of children, adolescents, and young adults affected by rare skeletal diseases.

Interventions

None listed

Sponsors

Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
8 Years to 24 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

Clinical and/or molecular diagnosis of Multiple osteochondromas; Clinical and/or molecular diagnosis of Ollier disease/Maffucci syndrome; Clinical and/or molecular diagnosis of Osteogenesis imperfecta; Consent to participate in the study

Exclusion criteria

Subject doesn't match the inclusion criteria

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
ResilienceEvaluation at baseline of the studyEgo-Resiliency Scale (ER89); 14 items; 4-point Likert scale (1=does not apply at all; 2=applies slightly, if at all; 3=applies somewhat; and 4=applies very strong); Score Resiliency Trait: 47-56 Very High, 35-46 High, 23-34 Undetermined, 11-22 Low, 0-10 Very Low

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
AnxietyEvaluation at baseline of the studyHospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS); 14 items: 7 items relate to anxiety and 7 relate to depression; a 4-point (0-3) Likert-scale; Cutoffs for both HADS-anxiety and HADS-depression as \>= 8, and for HADS-total \>= 15
DepressionEvaluation at baseline of the studyHospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS); 14 items: 7 items relate to anxiety and 7 relate to depression; a 4-point (0-3) Likert-scale; Cutoffs for both HADS-anxiety and HADS-depression as \>= 8, and for HADS-total \>= 15
LonelinessEvaluation at baseline of the studyUCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3); 20-item scale; 4-point rating scale (1=Never; 2=Rarely; 3=Sometimes; and 4=Often); score ranging from 20 to 80.

Countries

Italy

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026