Paediatric pain: facing the challenge!

Abstract

Aims: To highlight and discuss the particular complexity of paediatric pain, emphasising the role of attachment, family, and sex differences. To discuss the importance of various developmental aspects in understanding the chronic pain experience in adolescence. To promote effective interventions for acute and chronic pain experiences tailored to meet the psychosocial needs of children. To illustrate the use of participative research process workshops with youth. Rationale: The experience of pain in childhood has the potential to impose a significant burden on children and their families. A better understanding of the psychosocial factors influencing child pain experience will facilitate development and implementation of evidence-based interventions. Summary: This symposium consists of an international panel of paediatric psychologists who are each investigating unique aspects of children’s pain experiences. The symposium will start with presenting findings on the differential impact of active versus passive distraction, with or without parental coaching, on child outcomes during a venipuncture in primary school children. The second presentation will report on the development of a novel internet-based self-management programme for primary school children with chronic pain and their parents. The third presentation will continue on this chronic pain theme by discussing the role of family context and developmental aspects (e.g. autonomy), which impact the experience of chronic pain in adolescents. The fourth presentation will focus on another important aspect of development, i.e. attachment, and how different attachment styles influence pain experiences in young adults (18-25 years). The fifth part will feature an interactive component illustrating the importance of giving children and adolescents their own voice in research by demonstrating the implementation of participative research process workshops. The closing discussion will identify common themes and implications for clinical practice, with a particular focus on the relative role of sex and gender differences in acute and chronic paediatric pain experiences.