Over 15,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year in the United States. In addition to symptoms associated with their disease, children undergoing cancer treatment frequently experience significant pain and symptoms which negatively impact quality of life. In addition, advances in the delivery of healthcare have resulted in a shift from inpatient to outpatient treatment, which has transitioned the responsibility for symptom management to parents. Data suggest that children’s pain is under treated by parents in the home setting. In addition, because pain is such a complex phenomenon, multimodal intervention is necessary for optimal management. Unfortunately many children do not have access to sufficient pain treatment, particularly in the context of a global pandemic. Accordingly, the field of mobile health (mHealth) offers an innovative avenue for pain intervention for children undergoing treatment for cancer. Our research program at the UCI Center on Stress & Health has partnered with the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (CALIT2) to develop innovative and engaging mHealth interventions targeting children’s cancer symptom experience in the home setting.

Michelle Fortier is an Associate Professor in the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing at UCI with secondary appointments in the Departments of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Care and Psychological Science. She is also co-director of the UCI Center on Stress & Health, a multidisciplinary research center through the School of Medicine with a focus on reducing children’s pain and anxiety in the medical setting. Dr. Fortier’s research interests include improving quality of life and symptom management in children undergoing treatment for cancer, with a particular focus on incorporating technology into the management of pain and anxiety.

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