Abstract
Background
Pain communication should be an integral part of clinical consultations, particularly in paediatric rheumatology where children and adolescents frequently present with chronic musculoskeletal pain. To date, literature exploring the nature of and extent to which pain communication occurs has focused on healthcare professionals as respondents, yielding inconsistent and incomplete findings. The aim of this study was to explore children and adolescents’ experiences of pain communication in the context of paediatric rheumatology consultations.
Methods
Data were collected using semi-structured telephone interviews with children and adolescents recruited from three tertiary paediatric rheumatology centres in the UK. A framework analysis approach was used to explore the similarities and divergences in participant accounts.
Results
Twenty-six children and adolescents (aged 6-18 years, median=14, 58% female) participated. Diagnoses included: Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, Chronic Idiopathic Pain Syndromes, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome/Hypermobility. Four themes were identified: 1) Co-ordination of pain communication; 2) Barriers to pain communication; 3) Facilitators of pain communication; 4) Dissatisfaction with pain communication. These themes particularly encompassed the process of communication, disclosure of effective and ineffective approaches and the impact of communication. Participants expected questions about pain, felt cared about and found talking about pain natural. Challenges included augmenting the feeling of being different to peers and concerns about management plans changing as a result of pain conversations.
Conclusions
Children and adolescents recalled a range of effective and ineffective pain communication approaches. Our study informs recommendations which highlight how paediatric healthcare professionals can improve their communication about pain with children and adolescents in the future.
Pain communication should be an integral part of clinical consultations, particularly in paediatric rheumatology where children and adolescents frequently present with chronic musculoskeletal pain. To date, literature exploring the nature of and extent to which pain communication occurs has focused on healthcare professionals as respondents, yielding inconsistent and incomplete findings. The aim of this study was to explore children and adolescents’ experiences of pain communication in the context of paediatric rheumatology consultations.
Methods
Data were collected using semi-structured telephone interviews with children and adolescents recruited from three tertiary paediatric rheumatology centres in the UK. A framework analysis approach was used to explore the similarities and divergences in participant accounts.
Results
Twenty-six children and adolescents (aged 6-18 years, median=14, 58% female) participated. Diagnoses included: Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, Chronic Idiopathic Pain Syndromes, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome/Hypermobility. Four themes were identified: 1) Co-ordination of pain communication; 2) Barriers to pain communication; 3) Facilitators of pain communication; 4) Dissatisfaction with pain communication. These themes particularly encompassed the process of communication, disclosure of effective and ineffective approaches and the impact of communication. Participants expected questions about pain, felt cared about and found talking about pain natural. Challenges included augmenting the feeling of being different to peers and concerns about management plans changing as a result of pain conversations.
Conclusions
Children and adolescents recalled a range of effective and ineffective pain communication approaches. Our study informs recommendations which highlight how paediatric healthcare professionals can improve their communication about pain with children and adolescents in the future.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 111-128 |
| Journal | European Journal of Pain |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 6 Oct 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 6 Oct 2022 |
Keywords
- Healthcare professionals