OBJECTIVES: This study compared mother, father, and child self-reported pain sensitivity and psychosocial functioning during an intensive pediatric pain rehabilitation treatment. METHODS: Twenty children with chronic pain and their parents were enrolled in an intensive pediatric pain rehabilitation center and completed measures of pain sensitivity, fear of pain, pain catastrophizing, functional disability, and current and usual pain ratings at admission and discharge. RESULTS: Bivariate correlations and one-way ANOVAs were used. Pain sensitivity and psychosocial variables for mother, father, and child decreased from admission to discharge. There was no correlation between pain sensitivity and psychosocial variables and no significant main effect for time. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate a need for a larger sample to further explore the relationship between these variables.

Very little work has been undertaken that explores pain as a part of human existence and the inherent knowledge that accompanies it. What pain means to people and how they know their own pain is the subject of this research study.The research sought to identify ways of knowing cancer pain of six participants, each receiving palliative care at the time of this study. The themes of, balancing conflict, living with threat, always there and making sense are identified and examined to provide understanding of the ways these people know their pain. A new model of pain assessment is offered that incorporates an ontological way of knowing, and the meaning that the findings have for nursing practice is explored. Implications for nursing practice and education that are derived from the study are offered. The rigour of the study is promoted through an audit process / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis (M.S.N.)--University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2006. / Title from PDF title page screen. Advisor: Donald Kautz; submitted to the School of Nursing. Includes bibliographical references (p. 32-34).

In searching for new human pain models that more closely resemble clinical pain states, the capsaicin pain model has emerged as a viable model for both inflammatory and neuropathic pain states. A principal benefit of the capsaicin model is that it allows study of two different pain processes, primary and secondary hyperalgesia. Primary hyperalgesia is characterized by spontaneous pain and both heat and mechanical hyperalgesia. In addition, it is likely the result of activation and sensitization of both peripheral and central nociceptors. In contrast, secondary hyperalgesia is characterized by only mechanical hyperalgesia and is caused by the sensitization of central nociceptive neurons. Previous research utilizing the capsaicin pain model has primarily focused on the neural properties with little focus on the impact of affective states on capsaicin-related pain processes. The present study examined the impact of a noise stressor on both primary and secondary hyperalgesia. Results indicated that the effects of the noise stressor impacted secondary hyperalgesia, but not primary hyperalgesia.

In searching for new human pain models that more closely resemble clinical pain states, the capsaicin pain model has emerged as a viable model for both inflammatory and neuropathic pain states. A principal benefit of the capsaicin model is that it allows study of two different pain processes, primary and secondary hyperalgesia. Primary hyperalgesia is characterized by spontaneous pain and both heat and mechanical hyperalgesia. In addition, it is likely the result of activation and sensitization of both peripheral and central nociceptors. In contrast, secondary hyperalgesia is characterized by only mechanical hyperalgesia and is caused by the sensitization of central nociceptive neurons. Previous research utilizing the capsaicin pain model has primarily focused on the neural properties with little focus on the impact of affective states on capsaicin-related pain processes. The present study examined the impact of a noise stressor on both primary and secondary hyperalgesia. Results indicated that the effects of the noise stressor impacted secondary hyperalgesia, but not primary hyperalgesia.

The aim of the study was to investigate the application of aspects of Lazarus and Folkman's theory of Stress, Appraisal and Coping, to the chronic pain experience. In this context, the researcher explored the relationship between pain intensity and stress level. The association between pain intensity and the intensity of negative or positive attitudes towards the pain experience was also investigated. In addition, the relationship between pain intensity and the frequency of employing active, problem focused coping-strategies, or passive, emotion focused strategies, was explored. 105 subjects completed the South African Chronic Pain Questionnaire; an assessment tool based on adapted internationally validated measures. Findings suggest that there is a proportional relationship between pain intensity and stress level in the present chronic pain population. A positive relationship between pain intensity and the intensity of negative attitudes was revealed. A positive relationship was also reflected between pain intensity and the employ of passive, emotion-focused coping-strategies. There is a paucity of research that provides a theoretical framework in which to conceptualize the association between stress, appraisal and coping in chronic pain. To this end, the researcher has employed Lazarus and Folkman's theory in order to conceptualize the relationship between these variables and chronic pain intensity. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

The present study examined the nature of and relationship between attributions, just world beliefs (JWB) and adjustment in a sample of 62 community pain sufferers. This was exploratory because it accounted for shortcomings of these concepts, meaning they have not been investigated like this in pain. Specifically, it accounted for the scarcity of research distinguishing between cause, responsibility and blame; allowing the self-definition of responsibility, blame and adjustment; examining changes in attributions and adjustment, and considering just world beliefs. The importance of investigating these issues in pain was detailed. The research was conducted in two phases. The first, brief phase piloted a measure to account for these shortcomings. The second phase used the piloted measure to investigate the shortcomings in a series of five aims. Descriptive analyses indicated that most participants made causal attributions for their pain, with around half attributing responsibility and blame. Although similar in the types of attributions made, cause was distinguished from responsibility and blame, which were indistinguishable from each other. Attributions did not change. Additionally, JWB were weakly correlated with pain intensity, and analyses of variance techniques found JWB to interact with pain duration, such that those with 1 month-2.5 years' duration had stronger JWB than those in the 3-9 years' duration. JWB did not interact with attributions or adjustment, but chi-square analyses found attributions interacted with adjustment, such that attributions to the self were adaptive, while attributions to others resulted in poor adjustment to pain. Stepwise multiple regression analyses suggested that these latter attributions predicted pain intensity, as did pain treatments. Additionally, individual differences in attributions, adjustment and pain intensity emerged in chi-square analyses, although none were found on JWB. Full interpretations were made of these findings, and their implications for future research discussed.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Umeå universitet, 2008. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (M.N.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2002. / Bibliography: leaves 109-116.

Thesis (M.S.) -- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 2005. / Not embargoed. Vita. Bibliography: 121-126.