Long-term effectiveness of a camp-based intervention for individuals with spina bifida and the role of randomized follow-up booster sessions

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the long-term effectiveness of a camp-based psychosocial intervention for individuals with spina bifida (SB) 8 months post-camp. Using exploratory analyses, this study also sought to examine the effect of individually tailored booster sessions on maintaining or enhancing progress in goal attainment, condition-related skill mastery, and social functioning after camp. METHODS: Campers (N = 78; age range = 7-46 years) participated in a week-long camp-based psychosocial intervention for individuals with SB. Campers and parents of youth campers reported on social and health goal attainment, SB-related skill mastery, and social functioning pre-camp and one month post-camp. Four months post-camp, campers were randomized to complete a booster session (N = 43) or treatment as usual (N = 35). Twenty-two campers completed a booster session. Eight months post-camp, all campers, regardless of randomization group, completed follow-up questionnaires. Mixed-effects growth curves were estimated to examine change in study outcomes across time. RESULTS: Social and health goal attainment increased across the study timepoints. Regarding booster sessions, campers who completed a booster session were older than campers who did not complete a booster session. Completion of a booster session did not significantly predict change in study outcomes over time. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that progress toward camp goals is maintained well beyond the conclusion of camp. Booster session participation did not have a significant effect on the maintenance or enhancement of progress over time, though methodological challenges, including small sample sizes and potential selection biases, may have contributed to this finding.