Brief internet intervention for grieving children and adolescents: co-design and trial protocol.
13 affiliations
- 1enAble Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
- 2Discipline of Psychology, School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
- 3School of Psychology, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia.
- 4School of Business, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
- 5Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- 6ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre, Diemen, The Netherlands.
- 7Mental Health, Alcohol, Substance Use and Tobacco Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, South Africa.
- 8Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
- 9Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
- 10Phoenix Australia, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
- 11Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
- 12University College London, London, UK.
- 13Grief Australia, Melbourne, Australia.
Abstract
Background: Internet interventions may improve access to help for grieving young people. In feedback from recent trials of internet interventions for grief, youth emphasised treatments should be shorter to address lack of time, which was the main barrier to uptake.Objective: The aim was to co-design a new brief internet intervention for grieving children and adolescents, and to outline a protocol for a pilot feasibility randomised controlled trial.Method: Nine children and adolescents (mean age = 15.22, 77.7% female, 33.3% male) co-designed the brief internet intervention.Results: A randomised controlled trial is planned where six- to 18-year-olds will be randomly allocated to the intervention or waitlist control. The intervention will consist of a brief single-session online programme. Outcomes will be assessed at pre, post-treatment and one-month follow-up. The primary outcome is symptoms of anxiety; secondary outcomes are well-being, symptoms of depression, posttraumatic stress, and prolonged grief. Feasibility and acceptability will be assessed through recruitment rates, attrition and qualitative responses.Conclusions: Improving access to treatments for grief is important to address.Trial registration: ISRCTN.org identifier: ISRCTN21132251.
Related
- Dual-theoretical framework integrating the stress process model and family systems theory-based psychological intervention for caregivers of children and adolescents with mood disorders: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
- Efficacy of a personalized, response-based transdiagnostic intervention for emotional disorders delivered via the Internet: a protocol for an adaptive randomized controlled trial
- Feasibility and Preliminary Effects of a Culturally Adapted Internet-Based Mental Health Promotion Intervention for Indonesian Undergraduate Students (LifeHack: Menjadi Mahasiswa Tangguh): A Protocol for a Single-Arm, Pre-Post Feasibility Study
- Associations between behavioral intervention dose and outcomes in children and adolescents with obesity: meta-regression of randomized clinical trials
- Sleep quality as a potential target in the behavioral network of children and adolescents with multimorbidity: a machine learning and computer‑simulated network intervention study
BibTeX
@article{egan2026brief,
title = {{Brief internet intervention for grieving children and adolescents: co-design and trial protocol.}},
author = {Sarah J Egan and Elizabeth Bills and Amy O'Brien and Danyelle Greene and Sian B Pauley-Gadd and Tamara Zammit and Paul A Boelen and Bronwyn Myers and Kirsten V Smith and Jennifer Wild and Michael Duffy and David Trickey and Christopher Hall and James Clarke and Roanna Lobo and Daniel Rudaizky and Lauren J Breen},
journal = {European journal of psychotraumatology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1080/20008066.2026.2735203},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42845236},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Brief internet intervention for grieving children and adolescents: co-design and trial protocol.
AU - Sarah J Egan
AU - Elizabeth Bills
AU - Amy O'Brien
AU - Danyelle Greene
AU - Sian B Pauley-Gadd
AU - Tamara Zammit
AU - Paul A Boelen
AU - Bronwyn Myers
AU - Kirsten V Smith
AU - Jennifer Wild
AU - Michael Duffy
AU - David Trickey
AU - Christopher Hall
AU - James Clarke
AU - Roanna Lobo
AU - Daniel Rudaizky
AU - Lauren J Breen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
JO - European journal of psychotraumatology
DO - 10.1080/20008066.2026.2735203
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42845236
AB - Background: Internet interventions may improve access to help for grieving young people. In feedback from recent trials of internet interventions for grief, youth emphasised treatments should be shorter to address lack of time, which was the main barrier to uptake.Objective: The aim was to co-design a new brief internet intervention for grieving children and adolescents, and to outline a protocol for a pilot feasibility randomised controlled trial.Method: Nine children and adolescents (mean age = 15.22, 77.7% female, 33.3% male) co-designed the brief internet intervention.Results: A randomised controlled trial is planned where six- to 18-year-olds will be randomly allocated to the intervention or waitlist control. The intervention will consist of a brief single-session online programme. Outcomes will be assessed at pre, post-treatment and one-month follow-up. The primary outcome is symptoms of anxiety; secondary outcomes are well-being, symptoms of depression, posttraumatic stress, and prolonged grief. Feasibility and acceptability will be assessed through recruitment rates, attrition and qualitative responses.Conclusions: Improving access to treatments for grief is important to address.Trial registration: ISRCTN.org identifier: ISRCTN21132251.
SN - 2000-8066
ER -