(1) Background: Chronic pain in children remains an under-researched area, especially compared to acute pain. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions in the management of pediatric chronic pain and their impact on the well-being of both children and their families. Given the growing interest in integrative treatments to reduce reliance on pharmacological solutions, this review addresses the need for alternative therapeutic approaches. (2) Methods: A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines, covering studies published between 2019 and 2024 from PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus. Eligible studies included children aged 2 to 18 years with chronic pain who received non-pharmacological interventions. Data were extracted on intervention types, participant characteristics, and outcomes. The risk of bias was assessed using RoB2 for randomized trials and ROBINS-I for non-randomized studies. (3) Results: A total of 11 studies involving 1739 children were included, assessing interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy, personalized psychosocial follow-up programs, hypnotherapy, music therapy, and digital tools. The results demonstrated significant reductions in pain severity, improvements in emotional and physical well-being, and high patient satisfaction. However, the generalizability of findings was limited by the small sample sizes and variability in study designs. (4) Conclusions: Non-pharmacological interventions appear effective in managing pediatric chronic pain, offering improvements in pain reduction and quality of life. Further research is needed to optimize these approaches and confirm their long-term benefits across diverse populations. These interventions represent promising alternatives or complements to pharmacological treatments in pediatric pain management.
1 January 2023 in Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem
Objectives: to present a theoretical model for the interactional context of health professionals and families of children and adolescents under palliative care. Methods: qualitative study based on the theoretical frameworks of Grounded Theory and Symbolic Interactionism. Ten palliative care professionals took part in this study through semi-structured interviews employing snowball technique from 2020 to 2021. Results: the comparative data analysis resulted in the theoretical model “Searching for human connection to transcend symbolisms in pediatric palliative care”. It reveals symbolic elements that substantiate the construction of a collaborative context integrating two phenomena: “Overcoming boundaries and intertwining paths” and “Embracing suffering to weave meaningful experiences”. Symbolisms in palliative care guide the behavior of families and professionals, which makes them the key factor to be managed. Final Considerations: symbolisms and suffering continually integrate the interactional experience of professionals. Empathy and compassion are fundamental elements to enable their connection with families.
Introdução: A graduação em medicina pode comprometer a qualidade do sono e a qualidade de vida. Objetivo: Avaliar o estilo de vida e a qualidade do sono entre estudantes de medicina. Métodos: Trata-se de estudo do tipo survey online transversal. Foram convidados os 200 estudantes de medicina de uma universidade pública de São Paulo, que cursavam regularmente, dos quais 61 (30,5%) responderam ao questionário. A coleta foi realizada durante a pandemia da COVID-19, no período de novembro de 2020 a março de 2021. O critério de exclusão foi o preenchimento incorreto do questionário. Foram aplicados o Índice de Qualidade do Sono de Pittsburg (PSQI) e a Fantastic Life Questionnaire (FLQ). Diferenças entre mais de duas medianas foram calculadas pela ANOVA de Kruskal-Wallis. A associação entre o estilo de vida e a qualidade do sono foi calculada pela correlação de Spearman. Foi considerado o valor de p<0,05. Resultados: A mediana do PSQI foi 6 (ruim) e do FLQ foi 55 (bom). A medida em que o estilo de vida piorou, a qualidade do sono piorou (p=0,005). Foi observada correlação entre a piora do estilo de vida e a piora da qualidade do sono (p<0.001). Conclusão: Foi observado que a maioria dos estudantes desta universidade apresentavam estilo de vida bom ou regular, qualidade do sono ruim e à medida que a qualidade do sono piorou a qualidade de vida também piorou. Este estudo foi conduzido durante a pandemia da COVID-19 e seus resultados podem ter sido influenciados por isto.
1 May 2022 in Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira
OBJECTIVE: To identify what structure represents life style in medical students, in a public university, with the application of the Fantastic Lifestyle METHODS: This is a cross-sectional exploratory study. The Fantastic Lifestyle Questionnaire was applied online to medical students. Factorial analysis was realized and factors were extracted by principal components method. Rotation was conducted by Varimax method. RESULTS: Sixty-one questionnaires were analyzed. Students were male in 45.9%, single in 88.5%. The model was composed of three factors that explained 63.5% of all observed variance. The factors related to sleep perception, nutrition and stress, followed by relationships and entertainment and then, activity. Cronbach's alpha was 0.81, which was considered good. CONCLUSION: The model composed by the three factors observed in this group of students represented the construct quality of life, evaluated by the Fantastic Lifestyle Questionnaire. This result may provide substrate to actions that aim to improve quality of life and well-being in medical students from this university.
20 September 2022 in CADERNOS IBERO-AMERICANOS DE DIREITO SANITÁRIO
Objective: to contribute to the debate on the role of the child in his or her own health process and to highlight the important role of this involvement in pediatric palliative care (PPC) and, thus, in his or her own safety. Methods: this was a narrative review based on a literature search in MEDLINE and SciELO over the past 10 years, with additional input from the authors' experiences and secondary literature. Results: Fourteen articles were included in the narrative synthesis. Analysis of the articles on patient safety in PPC revealed difficulty in practicing PPC, there are gaps in professional education, importance of putting the patient first, shared decision-making, appropriate communication, and safe opioid use. Regarding the child's participation as a protagonist in PPC, concerns were raised about the child's wishes, effective participation in decision making, and objective assessment of the child's competence in this area. Conclusion: many aspects of PPC are consistent with patient safety, such as appropriate communication and the child's participation in his or her own care process. There was greater recognition of the child's autonomy as a patient. Although this topic is normative, many articles are about family-centered care. To reshape this approach, it is important that health care education and research be strengthened.
Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the characteristics of services in Brazil that compound the Brazilian Pediatric Palliative Care (PPC) Network. Methods: An online survey was conducted among representatives from PPC services. A total of 90 services from Brazil completed the online survey and answered a questionnaire about the service’s characterization, health professionals working in PPC, access to opioid prescription and education, and research in PPC. Results: In total, 80 services (88.9%) were created after 2010, 52 (57.9%) were in the southeast region, 56 (62.2%) were in public hospitals, 63 (70%) had up to 100 beds, and 57 (63.3%) were at the tertiary level. Notably, 88 (97.8%) had a physician in the team and 68 (75.5%) dedicated part-time to PPC. Also, 33 (36.7%) revealed concern with the care of health professionals and 36 (40%) reported difficulty or no access to opioid prescription. Research studies were reported to be conducted in 29 (32.2%) services. Conclusions: This mapping points out to a concentration of PPC services in the southeast region, with part-time professional dedication, and the need to improve professionals’ care. Difficulty in opioid access was reported. It is necessary to extend PPC participation to other Brazilian regions, increase time dedicated to PPC, improve professionals’ care and improve access to opioid prescription.