Children's pain predictions and memories

Predicted and Actual Exercise Discomfort in Middle School Children

“…Previous investigations emphasized the need to develop strategies to assist children in making accurate pain predictions (13). Children have been shown to evidence good recall for experiences (e.g., weather, illness, and physical exertion) associated with painful events (35).…”

Children's memory for pain: overview and implications for practice

“…3,43,44,69 This research indicates that children can accurately recall previously experienced pain over a period of months or even years. For example, Badali et al 3 examined 5-to 12-year-old children's memory of reported pain intensity for pain from a cold pressor task, which requires children to immerse their hand in cold water for as long as they can.…”

“…What is the consequence of recalling painful experiences on management of subsequent medical experiences in childhood and adulthood? With respect to children, much of what we know concerns recall of stressful experiences, rather than recall of the experience of pain itself (with a few exceptions 3,43,69 ). A body of evidence shows that stressful invasive procedures are recalled quite accurately over delays of between 6 weeks and many years.…”

Children's pre-operative tonsillectomy pain education: Clinical outcomes

“…Common causes for children's pre-operative anxiety are fear of the unknown, needles, and post-operative pain [2]. Despite school age children's interest in pre-operative pain preparation [3] and their ability to describe pain [4,5], little is known about the clinical outcomes pre-operative pain education has on children's anxiety and postoperative pain experiences. In addition, parental satisfaction with health care is related to clinicians' providing developmentally appropriate information directly to their child [6].…”