Journal of psychosomatic research
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Verbal information that a painkiller has been administered generates an expectation of pain relief which in turn decreases pain. This expectation-based pain reduction is termed placebo analgesia. We hypothesized that fear of pain would be related to higher stress and pain intensity and to reduced placebo analgesia. ⋯ Fear of pain was positively related to stress both during pain and in the anticipation of pain, and negatively related to placebo analgesia. Previous research has indicated a role for increased stress in the nocebo response, and the present findings suggest that decreased stress may strengthen the placebo response.
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Acute and chronic pain is a common experience in children and youth. A thorough assessment is fundamental to understand this experience and to assess and monitor treatment responses. The intensity of pain is the parameter most commonly assessed. ⋯ Amongst the several types of pediatric pain measures, self-report, when available, is regarded as the primary source of information about pain intensity, to be complemented by observation and knowledge of the context. There is a large number of self-report measures of pediatric pain intensity; and there is some agreement that professionals in the clinical and research practice should assess pain intensity using the Pieces of Hurt Tool, the Faces Pain Scale, the Oucher, or Visual Analogue Scales because these measures have shown to have sound psychometric properties and clinical utility. Despite the increased number of age-appropriate self-report measures of pediatric pain intensity over the last years, we report several research gaps and priorities of future research.
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This study evaluates the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) structure using a Rasch psychometric approach, and a refined and shorter STAI version is proposed. ⋯ The results indicate that the application of the Rasch model led to the refinement of the classic STAI state and trait scales. In addition, they suggest that these shorter versions have a more suitable psychometric performance and are free of threshold disorders and differential item functioning problems.
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Although there is a suggestion that the medical psychiatric unit (MPU) may reduce length of hospital stay (LOS), little is known about costs in terms of medical service use and psychiatric interventions in MPU care. ⋯ The findings suggest that patients at the interface of psychiatric and somatic morbidity are diagnosed and treated adequately at the MPU, leading to a decrease in medical service use and an appropriate increase in exposure to psychiatric interventions. These results are specifically generalizable to MPUs with a focus on psychosomatic conditions, for instance, somatoform disorders or affective disorders with comorbid somatic diseases. However, failure to show cost savings in terms of LOS compared to medical wards outweighs cost-benefit derived from lower medical service use, suggesting that MPU activities may gain in cost-effectiveness if shifted more to outpatient psychosomatic care solutions.
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This study compared changes in bodily pain, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and psychological symptoms during an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program among groups of participants with different chronic pain conditions. ⋯ MBSR treatment effects on pain, HRQoL and psychological well-being vary as a function of chronic pain condition and compliance with home meditation practice.