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Background and Objectives: Pain in Child Health (PICH) is a transdisciplinary, international research training consortium. PICH has been funded since 2002 as a Strategic Training Initiative in Health Research of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, with contributions from other funding partners and the founding participation of five Canadian universities. The goal of PICH has been to create a community of scholars in pediatric pain to improve child health outcomes., Methods: Quantitative analyses enumerated PICH faculty, trainees, training activities and scientific outputs. Interviews with PICH stakeholders were analyzed using qualitative methods capturing perceptions of the program's strengths, limitations, and opportunities for development and sustainability., Results: PICH has supported 218 trainee members from 2002 through 2013, from 14 countries and more than 16 disciplines. The faculty at the end of 2013 comprised nine co-principal investigators, 14 Canadian coinvestigators, and 28 Canadian and international collaborators. Trainee members published 697 peer-reviewed journal articles on pediatric pain through 2013, among other research dissemination activities including conference presentations and webinars. Networks have been established between new and established researchers across Canada and in 13 other countries. Perceptions from stakeholders commended PICH for its positive impact on the development of pediatric pain researchers. Stakeholders emphasized skills and abilities gained through PICH, the perceived impact of PICH training on this research field, and considerations for future training in developing researchers in pediatric pain., Conclusions: PICH has been successfully developing highly qualified health research personnel within a Canadian and international community of pediatric pain scholarship.

This study examined trends in chronic pain (including chronic headache) research from 1986 to 1995. Medical and psychological citation databases were accessed to identify chronic pain publications and yearly trends. Data from the PsycLIT (psychological) database indicated significant growth over the time frame analyzed in both raw number of chronic pain publications and the percentage of articles devoted to chronic pain. Conversely, the Medline (medical) database showed a significant decline in the percentage of chronic pain articles over the time frame analyzed. Analyses revealed increases on the PsycLIT and Medline databases in the number of studies on elderly people, and the Medline database showed increases in the number of studies of chronic pain in children. Remarkably, there were significant increases on PsycLIT in the number of drug-therapy studies for chronic pain, but a significant decrease was evident in the number of drug therapy articles abstracted on Medline. Factors that may be associated with these research trends are discussed, and future probable trends are anticipated.

This study examined explanatory variables that could predict parent attitudes concerning the helpfulness of pain medication (or their postoperative child. Predictor variables included beliefs underlying attitudes, prior medical experiences of the child and parent, and parental goals for pain relict Data were provided by 236 parents of children undergoing day surgery and were analyzed using a multiple regression model. Although beliefs were significant predictors, parents' own experiences with surgery were stronger predictors of attitudes toward the helpfulness of pain medication for their children. Identifying parents' personal adverse experiences with surgery may assist in improving the care they provide to their child after surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose was to determine if a nursing intervention pre-operatively with post-operative follow up would improve levels of pain, and the extent of common symptoms such as nausea and constipation. Two hundred and twenty-two surgical day patients undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery, mammary reduction, hernia repair and anal surgery completed pain diaries post-operatively. Nurses telephoned the intervention group on post-operative days 1, 2 and 3 with advice and support. Results indicate that the telephone intervention decreased patients post-operative pain. Patients do not always understand oral or written information given at discharge and there is a need for specific follow-up advice and information. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Major efforts to develop objective measurement tools for neonatal pain assessment have been made. However, the challenge of measuring pain in neonates remains suggesting that contextual factors (cFs) might alter their responses to pain. Although the role of cFs is increasingly discussed as crucial for pain assessment, they are not well described in the literature and are rarely considered in the clinical setting despite their importance. Aim: To systematically examine studies investigating the impact of cFs on pain response in preterm infants. Method: A literature search was undertaken for the period from 1990 to 2009. Studies reporting the relation between one or more cFs and pain response in preterm infants during a heelstick procedure were considered for inclusion. Results: Twenty-three studies satisfied inclusion criteria. The studies varied relative to their design, sample, analysis procedures, and variables examined. Six categories of cFs emerged: age, pain exposure, health status, therapeutic interventions, behavioral status, and demographic factors. The examined cFs varied in the strength of their association with pain response, although none were invariably related, as evidenced by contradictory findings. In some cases the inconsistencies appeared attributable to methodological limitations in studies. Behavioral and physiological pain responses were not always in agreement as would be expected. Conclusion: This review supports the influence of some cFs on pain response. However, the results remain inconclusive which may be, in part, related to the heterogeneity of the studies. Contextual factors need further investigation for a better understanding of the magnitude of their effect on pain response. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Accurate pain assessment is the foundation for effective pain management in children. At present, there is no clear consensus regarding the age at which young children are able to appropriately use self-report scales for pain. This study examined young children''s ability to use the Faces Pain Scale-Revised; (FPS-R; [Hicks CL, von Baeyer CL, Spafford PA, van Korlaar I, Goodenough B. The Faces Pain Scale-Revised: toward a common metric in pediatric pain measurement. Pain 2001; 93: 173–83]) for pain in response to vignettes and investigated the role of developmental factors in predicting their ability to use the scale. One hundred and twelve healthy children (3–6 years old) were assessed for their ability to accurately use a common faces scale to rate pain in hypothetical vignettes depicting pain scenarios common in childhood. Accuracy was determined by considering whether children''s judgements of pain severity matched the pain severity depicted in the various vignettes. Children were also administered measures of numerical reasoning, language, and overall cognitive development. Results indicated that 5- and 6-year-old children were significantly more accurate in their use of the FPS-R in response to the vignettes than 4-year-old children, who in turn were significantly more accurate than 3-year-old children. However, over half of the 6-year-olds demonstrated difficulties using the FPS-R in response to the vignettes. Child age was the only significant predictor of children''s ability to use the scale in response to the vignettes. Thus, a substantial number of young children experienced difficulties using the FPS-R when rating pain in hypothetical vignettes, although the ability to use the scale did improve with age. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]