Frequently Asked Questions

What is iCanCope?

An evidence-based digital pain self-management platform for young people living with a painful condition. iCanCope was created through a partnership between The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and University Health Network (UHN). The research leads at SickKids are Dr. Jennifer Stinson and Dr. Chitra Lalloo. The technology leads at UHN are Dr. Joseph Cafazzo and Dr. Quynh Pham.

The core iCanCope feature set includes: symptom tracking and visualization; goal setting; library of pain self-management skills; and community support. The iCanCope platform (iOS/Android) has been adapted for the following groups:

• Chronic Pain (12-25 year olds)

• Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (12-18 year olds)

• Sickle Cell Disease (12-18 year olds)

• Post-Operative Pain (12-18 year olds)

• Neurofibromatosis (18+ year olds)

The platform has evidence of high user acceptance, high adherence, and is associated with improvements in clinical pain outcomes. See Key Publications for further information.

Can members of the public access the iCanCope app?

The platform is currently available to research study participants. If you are a young person living with pain, you may be eligible for one of our ongoing studies. Please reach out to ican.cope@sickkids.ca to find out more about open study opportunities.  

Is iCanCope available for licensing by external groups?

Yes, the platform can be licensed from SickKids and UHN for select research and clinical use. Please contact us for more information.

Is iCanCope available for translation to other languages?

iCanCope (chronic pain version) is currently available in English and French. It has also been translated to Norwegian. We are open to discussing additional translations and/or cultural adaptations.

I am interested in collaborating. What are the next steps?

To help our team to assess project feasibility, please fill out the contact us form.

Key Publications from iCanCope Program of Research

[1] Palermo TM, Lalloo C, et al. A cognitive-behavioral digital health intervention for sickle cell disease pain in adolescents: a randomized, controlled, multicenter trial. Pain. 2023 Sep 21. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003009.

[2] Buono FD… Lalloo C, Stinson JN. Maintaining Engagement in Adults with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 to Use the iCanCope Mobile Application (iCanCope-NF). Cancers (Basel). 2023 Jun 16;15(12):3213.

[3] Lalloo, C. et al. Characterizing user engagement with a digital intervention for pain self-management among youth with sickle cell disease and caregivers: Sub-analysis of a randomized controlled trial. JMIR. 2022 Aug 30;24(8):e40096 doi:10.2196/40096.

[4] Lalloo, C. et al. The iCanCope pain self-management application for adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a pilot randomized controlled trial. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2021 Jan 5;60(1):196-206. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keaa178.

[5] Buono FD, Lalloo C, et al. Innovation in the treatment of persistent pain in adults with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1): Implementation of the iCanCope mobile application. Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2021 Dec 31;25:100883. doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2021.100883.

[6] Lalloo C, et al. Capturing Daily Disease Experiences of Adolescents With Chronic Pain: mHealth-Mediated Symptom Tracking. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2019 Jan 17;7(1):e11838. doi: 10.2196/11838.

[7] Grasaas E, … Stinson J…Lalloo C. iCanCope With Pain: Cultural Adaptation and Usability Testing of a Self-Management App for Adolescents With Persistent Pain in Norway. JMIR Res Protoc. 2019 Jun 3;8(6):e12940. doi: 10.2196/12940.

[8] Birnie KA, Lalloo C, et al. iCanCope PostOp: User-Centered Design of a Smartphone-Based App for Self-Management of Postoperative Pain in Children and Adolescents. JMIR Form Res. 2019 Apr 22;3(2):e12028. doi: 10.2196/12028.

[9] Pham Q, Graham G, Lalloo C, … Stinson JN, Cafazzo JA. An Analytics Platform to Evaluate Effective Engagement With Pediatric Mobile Health Apps: Design, Development, and Formative Evaluation. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2018 Dec 21;6(12):e11447. doi: 10.2196/11447

 [10] Stinson JN, Lalloo C, et al. iCanCope with Pain™: User-centred design of a web- and mobile-based self-management program for youth with chronic pain based on identified health care needs. Pain Res Manag. 2014 Sep-Oct;19(5):257-65. doi: 10.1155/2014/935278.