Pain behavior of neonates was compared across sleep/waking states and sex. From Gate-Control Theory (Melzack and Wall, 1982) it was hypothesized that pain behavior would vary depending on the ongoing functional state of the infant, in contrast with Specificity Theory (Mountcastle, 1980), from which one would expect neonatal pain expression to be solely a function of degree of tissue damage. The findings of facial action variation across sleep/waking state was interpreted as consistent with Gate-Control Theory. Awake alert infants responded with the most facial activity, which supported Brazelton's (1973) view that infants in this state are most receptive to environmental stimulation. Fundamental frequency of cry was not related to sleep/waking state. This suggested that findings from the cry literature on pain cry as a reflection of nervous system "stress", in unwell newborns, do not generalize directly to healthy infants under varying degrees of stress as a function of state. Sex differences were apparent in speed of response, with boys showing shorter time to cry and facial action following heel-lance. Issues raised by the study include the importance of using measurement techniques which are independent of pre-conceived categories of affective response, and the surprising degree of responsivity of the neonate to ongoing events. Exploratory analyses suggested obstetric factors were related to overall facial action. Caution was expressed in this interpretation due to the great complexity of the inter-relationships of medical, physiological and maternal variables which go far beyond the scope of this study. It was concluded that obstetric features such as mode of delivery should be considered in sample selection for neonatal pain studies, in contrast to current practise which has been to assume healthy newborns form an homogeneous population. It was clear from these findings that the issues are multifaceted, and the optimal way to proceed with research in the area of neonatal pain is with an interdisciplinary team format. / Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies / Graduate

Thesis (M.Sc.). / Written for the Dept. of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health. Title from title page of PDF (viewed 2008/12/04). Includes bibliographical references.

This study was designed to investigate the experience of having arthritic pain from the children's perspective. Previous research on how Canadian children perceive and manage arthritic pain and how it affects their daily lives is nonexistent. Therefore the purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore and describe the arthritic pain experience of school age children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) and to understand the impact/influence of various factors on the construction of that experience. Ten children, aged 10 to 13 years, with either early (at 2 to 4 years) or late (at 7 to 11 years) onset arthritis participated in this study. Descriptive data were obtained during two open-ended in depth interviews with the children in their homes. Using content analysis, data were analyzed for themes and their elements. An analytical framework of themes and their elements was developed that reflected the children's descriptions of and explanations for arthritic pain in the context of their day to day in the context of their day to day living with arthritis, both in the past and currently. The children perceived pain to be synonymous with arthritis and the mediating factor in how they functioned. They described arthritic pain in relation to distinguishing factors: intensity, duration, and frequency. Intermittent arthritic pain was attributed to cessation of medications, arthritis "flare-ups," inactivity, and activity. A current concern for most children was pain attributed to activity because it meant limitations in activities with peers. The children identified strategies they used to manage pain and cope with pain's unpredictability. The findings of this study were discussed in relation to selected research studies that either supported or refuted the findings of this study. Implications for nursing practice and research were addressed. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Nursing, School of / Graduate

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Acadia University, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-82). Also available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.