Outcomes that matter to young people with persistent pain
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Discovering which outcomes are the most important to young people and their parents when receiving treatment for persistent pain.
IRAS ID
230317
Contact name
Lisa Roberts
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 1 days
Research summary
Which outcomes are the most important to young people and their parents during the treatment for persistent pain?
To the patient, persistent pain can feel like a severe injury. However, medical tests often show no damage to the body and the pain continues for more than 3-months.
This condition affects 11-38% of under 18-year-olds and can occur in any part of the body. It can have a devastating impact on friendships, school, sleep, hobbies, family life and mood.
For the best chance of recovery, preventing pain into adulthood, young people need a hospital team who support them to manage their pain and live normally. Treatment focuses on improving sleep, encouraging activity and returning to school and hobbies.
To determine the success of treatment, hospital teams measure change using questionnaires or physical tests. Currently there is no guidance on what to use and therefore pain services across the UK measure different outcomes. Research has yet to ask patients and their parents about the most relevant outcomes to measure.
To make recommendations on what to measure in hospital services, this study will invite parents and 11-18-year-olds with persistent pain from two hospitals to talk to a researcher about their treatment. During the discussion they will be invited to describe their treatment journey from beginning to end using a timeline. Along the timeline, important signs of change and the differences from beginning to end can be highlighted. Young people and parents will be interviewed separately and they will be given a choice to either talk in person or use online methods. It is anticipated this discussion will take less than 1-hour.
If hospital teams can consistently measure outcomes that are important to young people and parents, the true success of a treatment can be established for future patient care.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/SC/0138
Date of REC Opinion
30 Apr 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion