Chronic Pain in Chidlren and Adolescents. A study in Lebanon.

Identifier:  TDX:4344

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX4344

Authors:  Finianos, Jessica

Abstract:
Chronic pain in children is a serious public health issue worldwide. Its prevalence is increasing, and its impact is overwhelming for the children, their families, and the healthcare systems. The optimal management of chronic pain in young people is multimodal and built on the biopsychosocial approach. Despite advances in research on study and treatment of chronic pain, it remains mal- and under- treated especially in low-income countries like Lebanon. To determine the current situation of chronic pain in children in Lebanon a literature review, three pain intensity assessment studies, a survey about the education and training in pain of healthcare professionals and the current practices provided in Lebanon for children with chronic pain, and an epidemiological study were conducted. The findings of these studies altogether identified different areas of improvement in relation to the management of chronic pain in children in Lebanon, showing that (1) Children in Lebanon suffer from different pain problems, (2) the Arabic version of the Numerical Rating Scale-11 and Faces Pain Scale-Revised have good validity and reliability to measure pain intensity in children and adolescents there, (3) the Visual Analogue Scale and the Colored Analogue Scale can be used interchangeably in adolescents, (4) training and education of healthcare professionals is far from being satisfactory and (5) pain management in Lebanon is mainly limited to pharmacological treatments.