Using an electronic pain diary to better understand pain in children and adolescents with arthritis

Summary Aim: To explore the pain experience of youths (9–18 years old) with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, using a real-time data capture electronic pain diary. Materials & methods: A descriptive study design with repeated measures was used. A total of 76 youths, aged 9–18 years old with juvenile idiopathic arthritis were recruited from a Canadian pediatric tertiary care center and asked to record their pain three times a day for 2 weeks using the e-Ouch© pain diary. Results: On average, participants reported mild levels of pain intensity, unpleasantness and interference, as well as stiffness and mild-to-moderate levels of fatigue. Interference of stiffness and pain with activities of daily living were significantly higher in the morning versus the afternoon and evening; while fatigue was significantly higher in the morning and evening compared with the afternoon. Conclusion: Real-time data capture approaches can be used enable a better understanding of how pain and other symptoms in youths with juvenile ...