A Randomised Controlled Trial Testing the Efficacy of an Educational Website About Functional Abdominal Pain for Children and Adolescents
Verena Neß, Clarissa Humberg, Lisa-Marie Rau, Leandra Eidt, Thomas Berger, Martin Claßen, Nils Christian Syring, Jens Berrang, Christine Vietor, Stephan Buderus, Gerrit Hirschfeld, Christina Becker-Emden, Julia Wager
März, 2026
Abstract
Background
Functional abdominal pain (FAP) is a severely debilitating condition affecting approximately 11.7% of children and adolescents worldwide, often persisting into adulthood and significantly restricting daily life. Health literacy is essential for treatment success. To improve knowledge about the biopsychosocial factors influencing FAP and support its management, we developed an educational multimedia website (https://meine‐bauchstelle.com).
Methods
In a multicenter randomised controlled trial (RCT), patients with FAP (N = 166, age 5–17 years, M = 10.8, SD = 3.31; 53.6% female) and their parents were randomly assigned to an intervention group (IG: access to the website before the first measurement) or a control group (CG: no access to the website during data collection). The primary outcome was health literacy (knowledge and health behaviour) and secondary outcomes were abdominal pain symptoms and the physician‐patient/parent interactions. Group differences were analysed using t‐tests and multilevel models.
Results
Patients in the IG who visited the website demonstrated significantly higher initial knowledge scores compared to the CG. Moreover, they reported significantly less pain‐related disability across three assessments over 3 months. Parents who visited the website rated the physician‐parent interaction significantly more positively than those in the CG.
Conclusions
The educational website efficiently increased patient knowledge about FAP and improved certain pain‐related behaviours. It serves as an effective tool in conveying information about FAP in clinical practice. Future applications could extend to preventive measures in schools and other settings.
