Chronic pain concepts of pediatricians: a qualitative survey
Permanent link
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/30175Date
2023-01Type
Journal articleTidsskriftartikkel
Peer reviewed
Author
Locher, Cosima; Wörner, Andreas; Carlander, Maria; Kossowsky, Joe; Dratva, Julia; Koechlin, HelenAbstract
Objectives: We explored pain concepts of Swiss pediatricians by means of a qualitative analysis.
Method: A cross-sectional online survey was sent to clinically active Swiss pediatricians registered with the Swiss Society for Pediatrics. A case vignette of a girl with chronic musculoskeletal pain was presented and pediatricians were asked (1) what they think caused the pain, and (2) how they would explain the pain to the patient and their family. Structuring content analysis was applied to describe major themes within the answers.
Results: The following main categories emerged: psychological factors, biological factors, unclear etiology, social context, disorder specific, and multifactorial. Most pediatricians reported the belief that psychological factors explained the pain. However, when explaining the pain to the patient, biological factors were reported most often.
Conclusion: There is a discrepancy between pediatricians' conviction that chronic pain is mostly explained by psychological factors and their exploratory model towards patients that focuses on biological factors. Promoting the biopsychosocial framework of chronic pain is key to ensure timely and effective treatment. The new pain classification in the ICD-11 has the potential to increase the use of the biopsychosocial model.