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Whose pain is it anyway? Comparability of pain reports from children and their parents
Steven J Kamper1, Kristina Boe Dissing2, Lise Hestbaek3
1The George Institute for Global Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia ; EMGO+ Institute, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Insights
Parent and child reports on childhood musculoskeletal pain show poor agreement, with children more likely to report pain missed by parents. This highlights discrepancies in pain perception and reporting in pediatric populations.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health Research
- Pain Management and Measurement
Background:
- High demand for research on childhood musculoskeletal pain scope and consequences.
- Need to clarify measurement issues, including parent-child reporting differences.
- Study aims to assess agreement between child and parent pain reports.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the concordance between children's self-reported musculoskeletal pain and their parents' reports.
- To identify factors influencing agreement or disagreement in pain reporting.
Main Methods:
- Data collected from Danish school children (ages 10-14) and their parents in 2013-2014.
- Two samples (354 and 334 child-parent pairs) independently assessed weekly musculoskeletal pain.
- Parents responded via text message; children via in-person or questionnaire at school.
Main Results:
- Percentage agreement was moderate (50% in Sample 1, 68% in Sample 2).
- Children reported pain more often than parents; the reverse was rare.
- Better agreement observed with higher pain intensity or longer duration; age and gender had no effect.
Conclusions:
- Significant discrepancies exist between child and parent reports of musculoskeletal pain in children.
- Children's pain experiences are often unreported by parents, leading to poor concordance.
- Child and parent pain reports are not interchangeable, necessitating careful consideration in clinical and research settings.
Background:
There is a high demand for robust research into understanding the scope and consequences of musculoskeletal pain in children. An important part of this involves clarifying issues surrounding its measurement, not least differences in reporting from the children themselves and their parents. Therefore this study will assess the degree of agreement between parents' report of their child's pain and the child's own assessment.
Methods:
Data were collected in 2013 and 2014 as part of a larger cohort study investigating the health of Danish school children. Two study samples included 354 and 334 child-parent pairs who were independently asked whether the child had experienced musculoskeletal pain in the previous week. Children were between the ages of 10 and 14 years old. Parents provided answers via text message and children were questioned in person or via questionnaire at their school.
Results:
Percentage agreement between parent and child assessment was around 50 % in Sample 1 and 68 % in Sample 2. The poor agreement was due to children reporting pain when their parent did not, the reverse very rarely occurred. Pain of greater intensity or longer duration resulted in better agreement between the child and parent. Child age and gender did not influence the likelihood of agreement.
Conclusion:
Children often experience pain that is not reported by their parents resulting in poor concordance between pain reports from the two sources. While it is not possible to say which is more valid we can conclude they are not interchangeable.
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