Background & Aims

According to the current definition of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), obtained in 2020, pain is “an anxious sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue injury, or described in terms of such injury”. In this sense, although pain is the most common consent of hospital patients, pediatric pain can still be undertreated. When using pain scales, both the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the Face, Legs, Activity, Cry and Consolability Scale (FLACC), the assessments of parents and nurses were always lower than the assessments reported by the children, which may indicate that undertreatment is a consequence of underdiagnosis. Given this scenario, it is necessary to understand more clearly how such health professionals are trained, especially in relation to non-pharmacological treatment, in order to allow disciplines to be developed and the diagnosis and management of pain in future practices to be improved.

Methods

After approval by the research ethics committee of the Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), medical students, from the second to the last year of their studies at this same university, were invited to answer a questionnaire with questions about pediatric pain, treatment non-pharmacological aspects of pediatric pain and how these topics were and are addressed in health courses today. Interviews were also carried out with UFSCar’s medical professors, online or in person, with questions on the same topics. Based on these responses, we sought to understand these group’s understanding of the topics covered. With the data collected, an observational, exploratory-descriptive and cross-sectional study and statistical analysis were carried out with a significance of 5%.

Results

In relation to teachers, 24 responses were collected, 13 women and 11 men, with 21 of the participants holding doctorate degrees. Of the interviewees, only one stated that the issue of pediatric pain is addressed in the curriculum of the place where they work, the others did not respond or just believed they were part of it. However, 95.8% believe that the approach and use of non-pharmacological techniques should increase. Regarding students, 92 responses were collected, 53 women and 39 men, with 86.7% between 20 and 30 years old. Of those interviewed, 51% disagreed that children, especially those under 2 years of age, showed increased sensitivity to pain and memory of painful experiences and similar stimuli in different children produced the same intensity of pain. However, 45.9% of students, when asked if they knew how to prevent acute pain in children, disagreed.

Conclusions

Thus, although studies on the topic began to be published in Brazil only in the 90s, conceptions on the subject are already more consolidated today, so that students have an idea of ??the importance of the topic. However, the curriculum seems unclear on the topic, so that the teachers themselves were unable to say exactly whether such themes are covered throughout the undergraduate course, even though they believe that non-pharmacological techniques should be more explored in medical training. Thus, although there is a growing number of publications and studies on pediatric pain, the gaps in this subject highlight the increasing need for medical students to have contact with education about pain in this age group throughout their undergraduate studies, especially so that they can approach and manage it in the most efficient and holistic way possible.

References

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Presenting Author

Esther Angelica Luiz Ferreira

Poster Authors

Esther Angelica Luiz Ferreira

PhD

Federal University of São Carlos

Lead Author

Ricardo Patrezi Zanatta

medicine student

Federal University of São Carlos

Lead Author

Lucas Pereira Liberal

medicine student

Federal University of São Carlos

Lead Author

Maycon Rodrigo Sarracini

Physical education student

Federal University of São Carlos

Lead Author

Maria Sagrario Gómez-Cantarino

PhD

University of Castilla La Mancha

Lead Author

Cristina Helena Bruno

PhD

Federal University of São Carlos

Lead Author

Rodrigo Bezerra de Menezes Reiff

PhD

Federal University of São Carlos

Lead Author

Cristina Ortiz Sobrinho Valete

PhD

Federal University of São Carlos

Lead Author

INMACULADA GARCÍA-VALDIVIESO JIMÉNEZ

PhD student

University of Castilla La Mancha

Lead Author

Juan Manuel Pérez

Master's Degree student

University of Castilla La Mancha

Lead Author

Topics

  • Education