Attrition From Pediatric Interdisciplinary Chronic Pain Clinics: Utilizing the "Paediatric Electronic Persistent Pain...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Pain Management
• Clinical Psychology
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Attrition from pediatric chronic pain clinics can hinder access to evidence-based interventions.
• This can lead to persistent pain and ongoing functional and psychosocial challenges for young patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of patient attrition from interdisciplinary pediatric outpatient chronic pain clinics.
• To identify patient and caregiver factors associated with this attrition.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of longitudinal data from 10 Australian/New Zealand clinics in the Paediatric electronic Persistent Pain Outcomes Collaboration (PaedePPOC) database.
• Logistic regression analyses were used to assess associations between patient/caregiver factors and attrition.

Main Results:

• Patient attrition prevalence was 19.3% (N=1051) in the cohort, occurring over 11 months.
• Patients with longer pain duration (>12 months) were more likely to attrit.
• Older patient age and higher caregiver psychosocial burden at treatment commencement were significantly associated with attrition.

Conclusions:

• Approximately one in five patients do not complete interdisciplinary pediatric chronic pain treatment.
• Pre-intervention screening to identify patients with longer pain duration, older age, and higher caregiver burden is crucial.
• Targeted support for these individuals may minimize attrition and improve service efficiency.