Accuracy of Children's Perioperative Memories (original) (raw)
Related papers
Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 2010
Objective To examine whether children's experience of pain intensity and anxiety, and adult behaviors during venepuncture, were related to children's memories of the procedure. Methods Participants were 48 children (24 males, 24 females) between the ages of 5 and 10 years who underwent venepuncture. The venepunctures were videotaped and adult behaviors were coded. Children self-reported their pain intensity and anxiety immediately and 2 weeks following venepuncture and answered contextual questions at follow-up. Results Children who initially reported higher levels of pain tended to over-estimate their anxiety at follow-up, whereas children who reported lower levels of pain accurately-or under-estimated their anxiety. Staff coping-promoting behaviors predicted the accuracy of children's contextual memories. Staff and parent behaviors did not predict children's recalled pain intensity and anxiety. Conclusions Results indicate that children's direct experience of pain intensity and staff behaviors during venepuncture are related to their memories. These data highlight the importance of effective pain management during medical procedures.
Awareness and memory function during paediatric anaesthesia
British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2008
Background. Previous research indicates a much higher incidence of awareness during anaesthesia in children than in adults. The present study is the first large-scale, intraoperative assessment of awareness during paediatric anaesthesia using the isolated forearm technique, and the first large-scale study of memory function during paediatric anaesthesia.
Children's memory for pain: overview and implications for practice
The Journal of Pain, 2004
Children's memories of painful experiences can have long-term consequences for their reaction to later painful events and their acceptance of later health care interventions. This review surveys research on children's memory for pain, emphasizing implications for clinical practice. Topics reviewed include consequences of children's memories of pain; the development of memory; differences between explicit (declarative, verbal, autobiographic) memory and implicit (nondeclarative, nonverbal) memory; and individual differences, situational, and methodologic factors affecting memories of pain. Methods to prevent the adverse consequences of remembered pain are addressed with reference to current research on editing or reframing memories.
Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 1996
Examined predictors of children's ratings of postoperative pain intensity based on a model of children's expectations for surgery developed from the Children's Health Belief Model (Bush & Iannotti, 1990) and McGrath's (1990) model of children's pain experiences. Prior to their inpatient surgeries, 28 children (ages 7-17 years) and their parents completed ratings of children's expected surgery pain, anticipatory anxiety, and expected helpfulness of pain medicine. Following surgery, children completed ratings of their postoperative pain intensity. Age, total analgesics administered, and anticipatory anxiety emerged as significant predictors of children's postoperative pain ratings. Methodological issues concerning the measurement of children's expectations for surgery are discussed.
Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 2002
This exploratory study investigated children's recall of the voiding cysto-urethrogram (VCUG, x-ray of the kidneys) after a 6-month delay and the associations between children's memory reports and specific behaviors coded during the procedure (distraction, crying, procedure-related talk). Thirty-two children, aged 2 to 7 years, were interviewed 6 months after undergoing the VCUG. Twenty-nine of the 32 children reported information about the VCUG after 6 months. Free recall was skeletal but highly accurate; more information was reported in prompted recall, but accuracy was reduced. Older children provided more complete and accurate reports than did younger children. Independently of age, specific child behaviors were associated with children's memory reports: crying during the VCUG was negatively associated with the correct information reported and accuracy in prompted recall; procedure-related talk was positively associated with the correct information reported in free recall; and distraction was negatively associated with the accuracy of free recall. The implications for intervention in pediatric contexts are discussed.
Children’s recall of medical experiences: the impact of stress
Child Abuse & Neglect, 1999
The study compared children's reports of two medical events, to assess the effects of the type of event on children's recall. Additionally, the study examined the effect of props on children's event reports. Method: Twenty children between the ages of 37 and 67 months were interviewed following either a voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) or a pediatric assessment (PA) at a hospital. Interviews were conducted between 6 and 8 days after the event and included a doll and prop items. Results: Ratings of stress were significantly higher for children who underwent the VCUG than those who underwent the PA. Children who experienced the VCUG procedure reported more correct information than the children who experienced the PA. Age was correlated with the total amount of correct information reported. Stress levels were correlated with both errors and accuracy of information. Conclusions: Children who experienced a stressful medical procedure remembered more than children who experienced a neutral medical event, although this increase in amount recalled was at the expense of accuracy. These findings suggest that stress impacts negatively on recall; however, the unique and structured nature of the VCUG procedure compared to the PA, and the familiarity of the PA prop items to the children who experienced the VCUG procedure, may also have contributed to differences in recall of the two events.
Remembering Pain after Surgery
PAIN, 2015
Children's memories for pain play a powerful role in their pain experiences. Parents' memories may also influence children's pain experiences, by influencing parent-child interactions about pain and children's cognitions and behaviors. Pain catastrophizing of children and parents has been implicated as a factor underlying memory biases; however, this has not been empirically examined. The current longitudinal study is the first to examine the role of pain catastrophizing of children and parents in the development of their pain memories following surgery. Participants were 49 youth (32 girls) aged 10-18 years undergoing major surgery and their parents. One week before surgery, children and parents completed measures of pain catastrophizing. Two weeks post-surgery (the acute recovery period), children and parents completed measures of child pain intensity and affect. Two to four months post-surgery, children's and parents' memories of child pain intensity and affect were elicited. Hierarchical linear regression models revealed that over and above covariates, parent catastrophizing about their child's pain (Magnification, Rumination) accounted for a significant portion of variance in children's affective and parents' sensory pain memories.
Canadian Journal of Pain, 2022
Memory biases for previous pain experiences are known to be strong predictors of postsurgical pain outcomes in children. Until recently, much research on the subject in youth has assessed the sensory and affective components of recall using single-item self-report pain ratings. However, a newly emerging focus in the field has been on the episodic specificity of autobiographical pain memories. Still in its infancy, cross-sectional work has identified the presence of various memory biases in adults living with chronic pain, one of which concerns the lack of spatiotemporal specificity. Moreover, a recent prospective longitudinal study found that adults scheduled for major surgery who produced fewer specific pain memories before surgery were at greater risk of developing chronic postsurgical pain up to 12 months later. The present review draws on this research to highlight the timely need for a similar line of investigation into autobiographical pain memories in pediatric surgical populations. We (1) provide an overview of the literature on children’s pain memories and underscore the need for further research pertaining to memory specificity and related neurobiological factors in chronic pain and an overview of the (2) important role of parent (and sibling) psychosocial characteristics in influencing children’s pain development, (3) cognitive mechanisms underlying overgeneral memory, and (4) interplay between memory and other psychological factors in its contributions to chronic pain and (5) conclude with a discussion of the implications this research has for novel interventions that target memory biases to attenuate, and possibly eliminate, the risk that acute pain after pediatric surgery becomes chronic.
Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 2005
Objective To evaluate the influence of two interventions on children's memory of and distress during a voiding cysto-urethrogram (VCUG, X-ray of the kidneys). Methods Sixty-two children (aged 2.5-7.5 years) were allocated to one of three conditions. In one (CI + D), they received complete procedural information during the VCUG, with a cartoon video. In a second (PI + D), children received limited procedural information, with a cartoon video. In a third (standard care, PI), they received limited procedural information. VCUGs were videotaped and distress was coded using the CAMPIS-R. To assess memory, children were interviewed 1 week later. Results Relative to the PI condition, children in the CI + D condition recalled more information, appraised the VCUG as less painful, and were less distressed. There were no differences between the PI + D and PI conditions. Conclusions An inexpensive, theoretically driven intervention can enhance children's memory and reduce distress during an invasive procedure.
Anxiety influences children's memory for procedural pain
Pain research & management : the journal of the Canadian Pain Society = journal de la société canadienne pour le traitement de la douleur
To examine the effects of temperament and trait anxiety on memory for pain. Three dimensions of temperament, as well as trait anxiety, were assessed in 36 children (five to 12 years of age) undergoing dental procedures; after the procedure, the children provided pain ratings. Following a six- to eight-week delay, the children reported how much pain they remembered. Most children (85%) accurately recalled their pain. Temperament had no significant effect, but trait-anxious children showed a greater likelihood of recalling more pain than they initially reported, suggesting that they may negatively distort recollections of painful experiences. When treating children, in particular trait-anxious children, clinicians should consider what children remember as part of pain management intervention.