Assessment of functional outcomes of an interdisciplinary inpatient pediatric pain rehabilitation program

Merideth Robinson, Cynthia M. Ward, Beverly S. Shieh, Bridget Armstrong, Marissa A. Docimo, Ximena Celedon, Suzanne Rybczynski, Eric Levey, Keith J. Slifer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the current study was to replicate and extend the program outcome analysis previously reported by Maynard, Amari, Wieczorek, Christensen, and Slifer (2010) by evaluating and describing the effectiveness of the same inpatient interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation program using standardized measures not included in the original study. The current study examined functional ability; subjective pain experience; school status; social functioning; mood; and anxiety at admission, discharge, and follow-up. Additionally, the study examined differences in treatment response across pain diagnoses. Method: A retrospective chart review of 59 patients, aged 9-20 years, was conducted. Pain-related disability, depression, anxiety, social functioning, and school attendance were assessed at admission, discharge and at 3, 12, and 24 months of follow-up. Results: Patients showed statistically significant improvements in pain-related disability (youth and parent report), depression, anxiety, social functioning, and school attendance. As expected based on prior research, the study did not find significant differences in self-reported pain severity between admission and discharge. Additionally, participants with head pain showed less change in parent-reported functional disability than participants with musculoskeletal, abdominal, or other types of pain. Preliminary follow-up data showed maintenance or improvement in school attendance and community participation despite intermittent emergency room (ER)/hospital visits. Conclusion: The inpatient interdisciplinary rehabilitation approach is effective in improving pain-related disability, depression, anxiety, social functioning, school attendance, and community participation, which adds to the body of literature supporting intensive interdisciplinary treatment for children and adolescents with chronic pain. The current study suggests that an intensive interdisciplinary approach may be effective for a wide variety of chronic pain conditions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)116-126
Number of pages11
JournalClinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology
Volume7
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2019

Keywords

  • Chronic and recurrent pain
  • Intervention outcome
  • Pain
  • Rehabilitation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Applied Psychology

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