Year: 2002
Type: dissertation
Abstract: In adults, chronic pain is by most people involved considered to be a serious disorder. Although\nchronic pain in adults is in general not life-threatening, a considerable amount of\nliterature elucidates the large number of sufferers, the high cost to the person in question\nand to the society as a whole, and the often crushing effects it has on personal and family\nlife.' Both in children and adolescents however, there is only little objective information\navailable about the prevalence and prognosis of different types of pain, and the related consequences.\nPain in children and adolescents probably does not create the same economic\nburden of illness as does pain in adults.' However, a better understanding of pain in children\nand adolescents is warranted to gain more insight in the etiology of pain, to relieve the associated\nburden for children and their families, and for the adequate allocation of health care\nresources. Does a subset of the children and adolescents with chronic pain become adults\nwith debilitating chronic pains that are often resistant to effective treatment? If so, it might\nbe possible to reduce the proportion of adults with chronic pain if these syndromes were\nidentified and managed in childhood.\nThe International Association for the study of Pain (!ASP) agreed on a common definition of\npain: Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential\ntissue damage, or described in terms of such damage. Note: Pain is always subjective.\nEach individual learns the application of the word through experiences related to injury\nin early life-' The !ASP definition highlights the fact that learning about pain and how to respond\nto painful situations occurs during childhood. Like for adults, pain is an unpleasant\nsensory and emotional experience for children. Their pain perceptions are subjective. Like\ntheir other perceptions, it is impossible to know exactly what a child's pain experience is like,\neven though there are methods available to measure different aspects of pain. Children describe\ntheir pains according to the unpleasantness or aversive dimension, the sensory attributes,\nthe intensity, quality (such as aching, sharp), location, and duration. They understand\nthe concept of pain and the multidimensional nature of pain; even very young children describe\nthe emotional and suffering aspects of pain as well as the physical aspects.4 Obviously,\ntheir concepts of pain differ according to their age, sex, cognitive level, and pain experience.\nFrom this perspective, studies on pain in children have to include not only measures\non the sensory aspects of pain, but also measures of disability and handicap.
Author: Christel W. Perquin
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2136869982