Pain Buddy

Health & Fitness

Free · Designed for iPad

Pain Buddy is a smartphone app designed by researchers at the University of California, Irvine to assist children and teens with cancer related pain and symptoms. Users will interact their Pain Buddy to document pain, symptoms, and things they do to manage their symptoms. Findings will help doctors, nurses, and parents get the information they need to give children treatments for pain and symptom management that work. Users can switch between 3 Pain Buddy avatars: Croco, Pug, and Koala. In addition to documenting pain and symptoms, users can earn virtual coins for each diary completion. Coins can be used within the app to unlock and play games and purchase clothes and accessories from the in-app store. Participants will be randomly placed into the Control Group or the Pain Buddy group. Both groups will have access to the Pain Buddy app, which includes daily diaries, games, and avatar care, such as grooming and accessorizing. The Pain Buddy group includes 2 additional features that are not included in the control group: Remote monitoring by a healthcare provider, and cognitive behavioral skills (CBT) training. Pain Buddy was specially designed with a system created by oncology nurses and doctors to let us know if the symptoms reported in the diaries would be something the healthcare team thinks might benefit from clinical guidance. Pain Buddy is not meant to give medical advice or designed to replace a nurse or doctor. For medical emergencies, please dial 911.

  • 3.0
    out of 5
    2 Ratings

Fix server endpoints

The developer, University of California, Irvine, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

  • Data Not Linked to You

    The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

    • Health & Fitness
    • User Content
    • Identifiers
    • Usage Data

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More

  • Seller
    • University of California, Irvine
  • Size
    • 353.9 MB
  • Category
    • Health & Fitness
  • Compatibility
    Requires iOS 13.0 or later.
    • iPhone
      Requires iOS 13.0 or later.
    • iPad
      Requires iPadOS 13.0 or later.
    • iPod touch
      Requires iOS 13.0 or later.
    • Mac
      Requires macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
    • Apple Vision
      Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
  • Languages
    • English
  • Age Rating
    4+
  • Copyright
    • © 2025 UCIrvine