Early Detection of Mental Disorders in Adolescents With Chronic Pain: Creation of a Screening Tool for Use by the General Practitioner

Overview

This research aims to create a tool for detection of mental health disorders in adolescents with chronic pain. The first part is testing a screening questionnaire and comparing in with existing questionnaires. The second part involves two focus group with the adolescents aimed at recording their perception of the questionnaire.

First part : creation of a screening tool. After detailed interviews with chronic pain experts and bibliographic research, a screening tool for mental disorders in chronically painful adolescents has been designed for use by the general practitioner. This tool is composed of 10 questions, making up a score of 10 points. The tool will be compared to two screening tools used in different clinical contexts, the HAD scale and the RPPS scale, in order to determine a positivity threshold. There is only one center participating in the research, the Centre de la Douleur et de la migraine de l'hôpital Trousseau (Trousseau Hospital Pain Center). Parents' consent is required for participation. For this assessment, the adolescents (between 10 and 18 years old) that see a doctor at the Centre de la douleur, will be asked to fill up the questionnaires in the waiting room. The filling of the questionnaire takes a few minutes. At the end of the appointment, the doctor will read the questionnaire to check that all elements have been addressed during the appointment. Second part : focus group on the questionnaire: 5 to 10 adolescents will participate in a discussion group lead by a paediatrician and a psychologist from the Centre de la Douleur de Trousseau. Two groups will be organized, the length of the group discussion being one hour. These focus groups will explore the adolescents' perception of the questionnaire and of different elements of the screening. The group will undergo full transcription. The verbatim will be anonymous and will be analysed through qualitative methods. The data will help designing a guidebook for the clinician explaining the main points in screening for mental disorders in chronic pain adolescent patients. A validation study for the screening tool will be eventually carried out after the completion of this preliminary study.

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