We are excited to share our new publication in Health Expectations Journal. We explored adolescents’ understanding, experiences and beliefs about pain to inform the development of our school-based pain education module, incorporating consumer engagement.
We hope you enjoy it and if you have any questions or ideas to discuss, please contact us!
Exploring adolescents’ understanding, experiences and beliefs about pain: A Qualitative Study
Pain is a common experience and responsible for significant burden on individuals and society. However, many people hold outdated beliefs or misconceptions about pain and how to manage it. Adolescence is an ideal time to teach young people about pain, as they are gaining greater independence, forming their own beliefs, and starting to experience more complex physical and emotional challenges. Yet there are no major public health programs providing this education. To make sure the education program we designed is relevant to teenagers we need to understand their perspectives about pain and their preferences when it came to education.
With two adolescents as consumers representatives, we conducted this study interviewing 25 Australian adolescents (ages 11-16) to explore their thoughts and experiences with pain. Three themes were generated:
Theme 1. Physical and psychological pain are distinct entities and generate separate experiences.
Theme 2. Psychological and contextual factors influence how someone feels or reacts to physical pain.
Theme 3. Physical pain matters when it impacts meaningful activities such as sports, school, or socialising.
Our findings showed that adolescents’ views on pain are not always aligned with current scientific understanding. School-based pain education programs should aim to address these misconceptions, helping students develop a better understanding of pain and its management.
Citation of the paper: Bogard I, Ayre J, Smith J, Pate JW, Sortwell A, Gorringe J, Gordon G, Kamper SJ, Yamato TP. Exploring Adolescents’ Understanding, Experiences and Beliefs About Pain: A Qualitative Study. Health Expect. 2024 Dec;27(6):e70132.