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Children
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Psychological Interventions for Pediatric Pain
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Psychological Interventions for Pediatric Pain

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (23 March 2023) | Viewed by 9220

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Tine Vervoort

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium
Interests: interpersonal dynamics of pain; children; emotion (regulation); empathy; memory bias; attention bias; disparities in pain care; race; gender/sex
Prof. Dr. Liesbet Goubert

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium
Interests: interpersonal dynamics of pain and chronic illness; pediatric pain; empathy; observational learning; goal regulation within interpersonal context; ACT and mindfulness; resilience

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Pain is a common experience in children and adolescents that may have adverse effects on both the child’s functioning, and/or psychological well-being, as well as on those in their environment such as parents or siblings. Psychological interventions for pediatric pain have significantly improved over the past decades. However, despite the growth of scientific knowledge in this area, inadequate pain management continues to be reported for children experiencing painful procedures and for children experiencing chronic pain.

The goal of this Special Issue in Children is to bring together a collection of cutting-edge articles that highlight innovations in psychological interventions for pediatric pain (acute and chronic) as well as articles focused on the scientific understanding of factors that influence psychological interventions for pediatric pain. We invite manuscripts focused on neonates through to emerging adults, and both healthy and clinical samples. Manuscripts’ formats can vary from reviews (systematic reviews, meta-analyses or narrative reviews) to original research (clinical trials, cohort studies, experimental lab-based studies, and case–control studies) as long as they are of high quality and advance the field of psychological interventions for pediatric pain.  

Prof. Dr. Tine Vervoort
Prof. Dr. Liesbet Goubert
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pediatric pain
  • psychological intervention
  • child
  • parent
  • pediatric acute pain
  • pediatric chronic pain
  • pediatric painful procedures
  • pediatric pain psychology

Published Papers (6 papers)

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21 pages, 1683 KiB  
Article
“Making Data the Drug”: A Pragmatic Pilot Feasibility Randomized Crossover Trial of Data Visualization as an Intervention for Pediatric Chronic Pain
by Katelynn E. Boerner, Unma Desai, Jessica Luu, Karon E. MacLean, Tamara Munzner, Haley Foladare, Jane Shen, Javed Gill and Tim F. Oberlander
Children 2023, 10(8), 1355; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10081355 - 07 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1236
Abstract
Data tracking is a common feature of pain e-health applications, however, viewing visualizations of this data has not been investigated for its potential as an intervention itself. We conducted a pilot feasibility parallel randomized cross-over trial, 1:1 allocation ratio. Participants were youth age [...] Read more.
Data tracking is a common feature of pain e-health applications, however, viewing visualizations of this data has not been investigated for its potential as an intervention itself. We conducted a pilot feasibility parallel randomized cross-over trial, 1:1 allocation ratio. Participants were youth age 12–18 years recruited from a tertiary-level pediatric chronic pain clinic in Western Canada. Participants completed two weeks of Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) data collection, one of which also included access to a data visualization platform to view their results. Order of weeks was randomized, participants were not masked to group assignment. Objectives were to establish feasibility related to recruitment, retention, and participant experience. Of 146 youth approached, 48 were eligible and consented to participation, two actively withdrew prior to the EMA. Most participants reported satisfaction with the process and provided feedback on additional variables of interest. Technical issues with the data collection platform impacted participant experience and data analysis, and only 48% viewed the visualizations. Four youth reported adverse events not related to visualizations. Data visualization offers a promising clinical tool, and patient experience feedback is critical to modifying the platform and addressing technical issues to prepare for deployment in a larger trial. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychological Interventions for Pediatric Pain)
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21 pages, 1011 KiB  
Article
A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Parent-Led Memory-Reframing Intervention to Reduce Distress and Pain Associated with Vaccine Injections in Young Children
by Maria Pavlova, Atiqa F. Pirwani, Jody Thomas, Kathryn A. Birnie, Michelle Wan, Christine T. Chambers and Melanie Noel
Children 2023, 10(7), 1099; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10071099 - 22 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1351
Abstract
Children remember their memories of pain long after the painful experience is over. Those memories predict higher levels of future pain intensity. Young children’s memories can be reframed to be less distressing. Parents and the way they reminisce about past events with their [...] Read more.
Children remember their memories of pain long after the painful experience is over. Those memories predict higher levels of future pain intensity. Young children’s memories can be reframed to be less distressing. Parents and the way they reminisce about past events with their children play a key role in the formation of pain memories. A novel parent-led memory-reframing intervention changed children’s memories of post-surgical pain to be less distressing. The intervention efficacy in the context of vaccine injections is unclear. This registered randomized controlled trial (NCT05217563) aimed to fill this gap. Seventy-four children aged 4.49 years (SD = 1.05) and scheduled to obtain two COVID-19 vaccine injections and one of their parents were randomized to receive: (1) standard care; (2) standard care and memory-reframing information; and (3) standard care and memory-reframing information with verbal instructions. Children reported their pain after vaccine injections. One week after the first vaccination, children reported memory of pain. Parents reported their use of memory-reframing strategies and intervention feasibility and acceptability. The intervention did not result in significant differences in children’s recalled or future pain. Parents rated the intervention as acceptable and feasible. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychological Interventions for Pediatric Pain)
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14 pages, 644 KiB  
Article
Expressed Beliefs about the Cause of Pain in a Pediatric Population: A Qualitative Study
by Laura Menés Fernández, Isabel Salvat and Cristina Adillón
Children 2023, 10(6), 1007; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10061007 - 02 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1119
Abstract
(1) Background: The aims of this study are to explore what beliefs children and adolescents manifest about the cause of the pain they describe, to compare whether there are differences between beliefs by age and the persistence of pain, and to relate the [...] Read more.
(1) Background: The aims of this study are to explore what beliefs children and adolescents manifest about the cause of the pain they describe, to compare whether there are differences between beliefs by age and the persistence of pain, and to relate the explanations of the cause of pain with current scientific evidence. (2) Methods: a cross-sectional qualitative study was used. The primary endpoint of the study was obtaining explanations of the cause of pain recorded by means of an open-ended question. The participants were school-age children attending a charted school in the province of Barcelona. (3) Results: The children and adolescents proposed a diverse range of explanations for the cause of pain that they reported in their responses. The most frequent explanation for the cause of pain were pathologies and injuries (45.95%), ergonomic issues (22.60%) and psychological issues (15.95%). (4) Conclusions: There is a lot of variety in the explanations that young people give about the cause of their pain in schoolchildren aged between 10 and 16 years old. There exists a high prevalence of explanations non-associated with tissue damage (ENAD) concerning the causes of pain described. It is necessary that future health prevention programs dedicated to early ages consider which beliefs about the cause of pain are the most frequent in the pediatric population. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychological Interventions for Pediatric Pain)
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18 pages, 1027 KiB  
Article
A Brief Mindfulness Intervention for Parents and Children before Pediatric Venipuncture: A Randomized Controlled Trial
by Rachel L. Moline, Kaytlin Constantin, Christine T. Chambers, Deborah Powell, Stephen P. Lewis, Laryssa Laurignano and C. Meghan McMurtry
Children 2022, 9(12), 1869; https://doi.org/10.3390/children9121869 - 30 Nov 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1955
Abstract
Background: Routine needle procedures can be distressing for parents and children. Mindfulness interventions may be helpful for parents and children but have not been examined for pediatric needle procedures despite showing benefits in the context of pediatric chronic pain and in lab-based pain [...] Read more.
Background: Routine needle procedures can be distressing for parents and children. Mindfulness interventions may be helpful for parents and children but have not been examined for pediatric needle procedures despite showing benefits in the context of pediatric chronic pain and in lab-based pain tasks. Methods: This preregistered (NCT03941717) two-arm, parallel-group randomized controlled trial examined the effects of a 5 min mindfulness intervention before pediatric venipuncture for parents and children (aged 7–12) compared to a control group on primary outcomes of child pain and fear, secondary outcomes of parent distress, and tertiary outcomes of parent ratings of child pain and fear. Moderators of parent and children’s responses to the intervention were examined: state catastrophizing, trait mindfulness, and experiential avoidance. Results: Sixty-one parent–child dyads were randomized (31 mindfulness; 30 control). Parents and children completed measures, listened to a 5 min audio recording (mindfulness or control), and parents accompanied their child during routine venipuncture. The mindfulness intervention involved breathing and encouraging nonjudgmental attention to one’s experiences, while the control condition involved an unfocused attention task. Three between-subject MANCOVAs assessed for group differences. Child pain and fear rated by children and their parents did not differ between groups. Parents in the mindfulness group were less distressed during the venipuncture than the controls. Parent state catastrophizing may have moderated the intervention effects, such that parents with moderate and high catastrophizing levels had lower distress following the mindfulness intervention versus control. Conclusions: The intervention did not reduce child pain or fear but reduced parent distress. It appeared most helpful for parents catastrophizing about their child’s pain, which is noteworthy as these children are prone to worse outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychological Interventions for Pediatric Pain)
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22 pages, 667 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Robot-Led Distraction during Needle Procedures on Pain-Related Memory Bias in Children with Chronic Diseases: A Pilot and Feasibility Study
by Emma Rheel, Tine Vervoort, Anneleen Malfliet, Jutte van der Werff ten Bosch, Sara Debulpaep, Wiert Robberechts, Evelyn Maes, Kenza Mostaqim, Melanie Noel and Kelly Ickmans
Children 2022, 9(11), 1762; https://doi.org/10.3390/children9111762 - 17 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1580
Abstract
The current study evaluated the feasibility and preliminary clinical impact of robot-led distraction during needle procedures in children with chronic diseases on pain-related memories. Participants were 22 children (8–12 years old) diagnosed with a chronic disease (e.g., chronic immune deficiency) and undergoing a [...] Read more.
The current study evaluated the feasibility and preliminary clinical impact of robot-led distraction during needle procedures in children with chronic diseases on pain-related memories. Participants were 22 children (8–12 years old) diagnosed with a chronic disease (e.g., chronic immune deficiency) and undergoing a needle procedure as part of their routine treatment. Children were randomized to the experimental group (i.e., robot-led distraction) or control group (i.e., usual care). For feasibility, we evaluated study- and needle-procedure-related characteristics, intervention fidelity and acceptability, and nurse perceptions of the intervention. Primary clinical outcomes included children’s memory bias for pain intensity and pain-related fear (1 week later). Results indicated that intervention components were >90% successful. Overall, the robot-led distraction intervention was perceived highly acceptable by the children, while nurse perceptions were mixed, indicating several challenges regarding the intervention. Preliminary between-group analyses indicated a medium effect size on memory bias for pain intensity (Hedges’ g = 0.70), but only a very small effect size on memory bias for pain-related fear (Hedges’ g = 0.09), in favor of the robot-led distraction intervention. To summarize, while feasible, certain challenges remain to clinically implement robot-led distraction during needle procedures. Further development of the intervention while accounting for individual child preferences is recommended. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychological Interventions for Pediatric Pain)
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14 pages, 302 KiB  
Brief Report
Know Pain, No Pain? Preliminary Testing and Application of a New Tool to Assess Biopsychosocial Pain Concepts in Children
by Linda Wickering, Catherina Lautwein, Hanna Nitsche, Michael Schneider and Tanja Hechler
Children 2023, 10(5), 814; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10050814 - 29 Apr 2023
Viewed by 1356
Abstract
To deliver tailored pain science education, assessing children’s biopsychosocial pain concepts is necessary. As validated tools are lacking, a new tool is presented, the biopsychosocial pain concept matrix (BiPS matrix), which assesses children’s biological, psychological, and social pain concepts in five domains according [...] Read more.
To deliver tailored pain science education, assessing children’s biopsychosocial pain concepts is necessary. As validated tools are lacking, a new tool is presented, the biopsychosocial pain concept matrix (BiPS matrix), which assesses children’s biological, psychological, and social pain concepts in five domains according to the Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation (Hagger and Orbell, 2003): (1) illness identity, (2) causes, (3) consequences, (4) duration, and (5) treatment. The present preliminary study aims to (1) assess the items’ readability and understandability in cognitive interviews with N = 9 healthy children (9 to 19 years, M = 13.78 years, SD = 3.05; 44% female) and (2) pre-test the BiPS matrix within an online survey of N = 27 healthy children (9 to 19 years, M = 13.76 years, SD = 3.03; 56% female). Results revealed difficulties in understanding some items. Children’s understanding increased with age. Age, chronic pain status, and pain in the social environment were positively associated with the BiPS total score, whereas the latter explained the most variance in pain concepts of children. Patient-focused methods such as cognitive interviews proved essential in testing the readability and understanding of items in children. Future studies are warranted to further validate the BiPS matrix. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychological Interventions for Pediatric Pain)
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