Introduction

Chronic pain can significantly impact a child's life, affecting both mental and physical health. Maintaining a balance between the four pillars of health (stress, sleep, diet and exercise) is important for a child's well-being. When working with paediatric patients, it is necessary to understand and then evaluate the impact that these pillars can have on chronic pain. If these pillars are not balanced, a child may have increased sensitivity to pain. To fully assess and manage chronic pain in children, clinicians must also gain insight into a child's perception of pain. Using self-reported assessments and questionnaires can help initiate dialogue between the clinician and child about pain. This course will explore pain questionnaires useful for children who have chronic pain. It will then discuss potential strategies to address any imbalance in the four pillars of health that may be impacting a child's ability to manage pain.

Aims

This course aims to explore the four pillars of health and introduce assessment tools for paediatric chronic pain.

Outline

This course is made up of videos, reading, forum posts and a final quiz. The course content is split into the following sections:

1. Video
2. Reading activity
3. Video
4. Reading activity
5. Quiz

Target audience

This course is aimed at rehabilitation professionals, students and assistants including but not limited to Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Rehabilitation Doctors, Rehabilitation Nurses, Prosthetists, Orthotists, Psychologists, Audiologists, Dietetics, Social Workers. Community Health Workers, Nurses or Medical Doctors interested in this subject are also invited to participate.