Biomedical subjects

C Sällfors

Publications and source records attributed to C Sällfors.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2002

Oscillating between hope and despair--a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this qualitative study was to elucidate the life situation and psychosocial processes of living with chronic pain in children suffering from juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA). METHODS: Taped open qualitative interviews with 22 children (aged 6-17 years) were transcribed verbatim and analysed using the comparative method for grounded theory. RESULTS: A core category, labelled oscillating between hope and despair, was identified and related to four additional categories labelled disturbed order, dependency, ambivalence and uncertainty about the future. There were relationships between the children's subjective experience of pain and their experiences of disturbed order in daily life, dependency on treatment, health care and significant others, ambivalence related to environmental reactions and uncertainty about the future. Chronic pain and disease control the children's lives and lead to restricted participation in social life. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic pain is a substantial problem for children with JCA, which must be considered in health care. The pain affected and disturbed the children's ordinary way of life. It blocked a number of goals. Psychological and physiological processes interact in the phenomenological experience of pain, and the response of the environment elicits, maintains or decreases the experience of pain. Hopefully,the findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the life situation of children suffering from JCA and can be of importance in developing rehabilitation programmes for these children.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Gender and age differences in pain, coping and health status among children with chronic arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate pain, coping and health status in children with chronic arthritis. Additional aims were to explore gender variations in pain, coping and health status, and the same factors in children under 16 years versus children 16 years or older. METHODS: For 125 children (43 boys) with a median age of 14.1 years (range 10.3-17.8) disability and discomfort were assessed (Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire, CHAQ). Pain, coping, fatigue, sleeping and satisfaction with life were evaluated (Visual Analogue Scales). The Pain Intensity Scale was used to assess the variation in pain intensity during one week. RESULTS: The CHAQ disability index (DI) was 0.63. In the total sample, girls had larger numbers of affected joints in upper extremities (p = 0.028) and more days with morning pain (p = 0.025) than boys. Boys reported greater perceived ability to reduce pain than girls (p = 0.020). Compliance with treatment was more frequent in girls than in boys (p = 0.029). In children 16 years of age and older, boys reported greater perceived ability to control pain (p = 0.032) and to reduce pain than girls (p = 0.001) and fewer days with worst pain in the mornings (p = 0.013), as well as less pain variations over the period of a day (p = 0.014) and over a period of a week (p = 0.035). CONCLUSIONS: As a group, the children were clearly affected by their arthritis. Pain was related to the severity of disease. Some significant gender and age differences were highlighted, which should be considered in clinical pain management.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Well-being in children with juvenile chronic arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe a model for predicting well-being in children with juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA). METHODS: 125 children (43 boys) (median age 14.1 yrs; range 10.3-17.8) rated disability and discomfort (Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire). Pain control, pain reduction and fatigue were evaluated (visual analogue scales). In addition, variation of pain intensity was rated by a pain intensity scale. Analysis by the stepwise regression technique was used to explain the variability in well-being. Eight independent variables were included as possible predictors in the model (p < 0.1). RESULTS: The analyses indicated that well-being in children with JCA is related to three clusters of variables; pain "as it normally is", number of pain-free days and attending physical education classes. The analysis explained a substantial portion of the total variance in the children's well-being (55.1%). CONCLUSION: Pain is a robust predictor of well-being in children with JCA. This supports the concept of the benefits of reducing chronic joint pain as a major goal in caring of these children.

Adaptation, Psychological↗