UCanPoopToo Clinical Trials

The development and testing of this program was conducted by the Behavioral Health & Technology program at the University of Virginia and supported by Grant Number R01HD028160 from the National Institute Of Child Health And Human Development. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute Of Child Health And Human Development or the National Institutes of Health. Click each of the Studies below to view additional details. All of these studies were conducted by the Behavioral Health & Technology program at the University of Virginia.

• 2001: An Internet Intervention for Pediatric Encopresis

  This study evaluated the benefits of enhanced toilet training delivered through the Internet for children with encopresis. Twenty-four children with encopresis were randomly assigned to the Internet intervention group (Web) or no Internet intervention group (No-Web). All participants continued to receive routine care from their primary care physician. The Web participants demonstrated greater improvements in terms of reduced fecal soiling, increased defecation in the toilet, and increased unprompted trips to the toilet.
  View the award-winning article ‘An Internet intervention as adjunctive therapy for pediatric encopresis’ published in The Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

• 2006: Efficacy and acceptability of an Internet intervention for children with encopresis

  This study evaluated the efficacy and acceptability of UCanPoopToo as a supplement to their current treatment. Eighty-six (86) participants were recruited from families with school-age children (aged 5 – 12) with encopresis already receiving treatment through a doctor or therapist (treatment as usual). Results were presented at the Fourth Meeting of the International Society for Research on Internet Interventions, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The article, Real World Use of an Internet Intervention for Pediatric Encopresis, was also published in Journal of Medical Internet Research.

• 2010: Current Research Study

  In previous studies, this Internet intervention for pediatric encopresis has only been offered to individuals who are currently in treatment with a health care provider. In order to significantly increase its potential for wide-spread dissemination, a new clinical trial is underway in which families can self-refer to the intervention. In addition, as adherence is often a significant issue with Internet interventions, an enhanced condition involving a stepped care approach with graduated levels of support (automated email, personalized email, phone support) for different levels of nonadherence will be evaluated as part of a large, national, randomized clinical trial. The nationwide study currently includes 327 self-referred families. The study will experimentally test the short and long term benefits of the intervention as compared to use of the system with a stepped care approach to enhance adherence and ultimately symptom improvement. A static, educational website will be used with the control group. Cost-benefit analyses will be evaluated and documented. All subjects have already completed the UCanPoopToo program and the final results of the current study are anticipated to be available by Summer 2012.