2024 Funded Micro Grant
EmBrace: Bringing Connectedness and Social Support for Pediatric Braced Scoliosis Patients
Amit Jain, Paul Sponseller, Alison Dyzel, Kristen Venuti, Karen Wille, Allyson Kuhn, Kaitlan Baker
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Pediatric Division
Bracing is a treatment for scoliosis that involves wearing a plastic back brace for more than 20 hours a day, an emotional and physically uncomfortable challenge for young adolescents. This discomfort compounded by the perceived social stigma of wearing a brace proves to me a barrier to brace compliance. The EmBrace team is using a multifaceted approach to bring connectedness and emotional and peer support to braced scoliosis patients.
The team will first create a day in the life video, featuring a middle school aged girl who wears a brace for scoliosis to serve as education for children new to wearing a brace. The second arm is the implementation of a Wall of Fame in our 3 outpatient orthopedic clinic spaces at Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center, Johns Hopkins at Greenspring Station, and Johns Hopkins at Columbia. The Wall of Fame will consist of photographs of children when they first receive their braces and at the completion of bracing. These instant photographs will be taken at EmBrace’s Brace Kickoff and Brace Graduation Celebrations and posted on Instagram with a common #hashtag to promote patient inter-connectedness.