Caring for children with intellectual disabilities part 1: Experience with the population, pain-related beliefs, and care decisions

Abstract

Some children with intellectual disabilities (ID): experience pain more frequently than children without ID, express their pain differently, and are incapable of providing self-reports. No research has examined disability and pain-related beliefs of respite workers (RW) and their relations to pain assessment and management decisions for children with ID.

Objectives: (1) compare disability and pain-related beliefs between RW and a sample with little experience in ID; (2) determine whether individuals' beliefs and personal characteristics are related to pain assessment and management decisions.

Participants: Fifty-six RW (aged: 18-67 years, M_age=33.37, 46 female) and 141 emerging adults (aged: 18-31 years, M_age=19.67, 137 female).

Procedure/measures: In an online survey, participants responded to six vignettes depicting pain in children with ID, and completed measures of pain and disability-related beliefs.

Results/discussion: Compared to those without experience, RW held more positive disability-related beliefs, t(192)=4.23, p<0.001. Participants' pain-related beliefs (e.g., sensitivity to pain) differed depending on severity of the child's ID and participant group. Participants' pain-related beliefs predicted care decisions. Results provide initial insight into RW pain-related beliefs about children with ID, and a basic understanding of the relations among pain beliefs, personal characteristics and pain-related decisions.

Keywords: Children; Intellectual disability; Pain assessment; Pain management; Respite.