Joslin Rhiannon, Donovan-Hall Maggie, Barker Mary, Birnie Kathryn A, Melfi Eleanor, Roberts Lisa
School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Women's and Children's Department, University Hospitals Sussex, St. Richards Hospital, Chichester, UK.
Health Expect. 2025 Aug;28(4):e70347. doi: 10.1111/hex.70347.
Musculoskeletal pain and injury are common in childhood. To assess and manage children's pain appropriately, it is crucial to understand their perspective on how the problem started and how it feels. There are multiple barriers to children being heard. Offering visual-based communication opportunities, in addition to traditional language-based communication, could potentially help children to retell their experiences. The aim of the public involvement event was to establish how children chose to retell their experience of musculoskeletal pain or injury.
As part of the preliminary work for the design of a clinical intervention, children's opinions were sought at a public event. An interactive exhibit invited children to retell their musculoskeletal pain and injury experiences through talking, drawing, acting, writing, using a human figurine, or combining these methods. Observation and note-taking were used by exhibit facilitators to record how children chose to retell their experience.
One hundred and twelve children aged 2-17 years participated in the interactive exhibit. Most children choose to use a creative activity in addition to talking about their experience. Drawing or using a human figurine was the most frequently used creative activity. Creative methods, most often drawing, enabled some children to communicate their pain experience without talking. Age and gender differences were observed, with younger children being more likely to draw and boys using human figurines more often.
There was no 'one size fits all' approach to communication as children had different preferences. The most frequently used creative methods, drawing and the use of a human figurine, will inform the design of a tailored physiotherapy intervention developed with service users.
This public involvement event highlights the valuable role children can play in shaping research processes to inform the development of interventions. The broader research programme, including this event, was supported by the University Faculty of Medicine Youth Advisory Group, comprising nine members aged 14-18, who actively contributed by helping to determine the methods used, during two 1-h sessions.
The wider programme of research about which public involvement was informed is registered and listed on the ISRCTN registry, with study registration number ISRCTN18918987.
肌肉骨骼疼痛和损伤在儿童时期很常见。为了适当地评估和处理儿童的疼痛，了解他们对问题如何开始以及感受如何的看法至关重要。让儿童被倾听存在多种障碍。除了传统的基于语言的交流之外，提供基于视觉的交流机会可能有助于儿童复述他们的经历。公众参与活动的目的是确定儿童如何选择复述他们肌肉骨骼疼痛或损伤的经历。
作为临床干预设计初步工作的一部分，在一次公众活动中征求了儿童的意见。一个互动展览邀请儿童通过交谈、绘画、表演、写作、使用人体模型或结合这些方法来复述他们的肌肉骨骼疼痛和损伤经历。展览 facilitators 使用观察和笔记来记录儿童如何选择复述他们的经历。
112 名年龄在 2 至 17 岁的儿童参加了互动展览。大多数儿童除了谈论他们的经历外，还选择使用一种创造性活动。绘画或使用人体模型是最常使用的创造性活动。创造性方法，最常见的是绘画，使一些儿童能够在不交谈的情况下交流他们的疼痛经历。观察到了年龄和性别差异，年幼的儿童更有可能绘画，而男孩更经常使用人体模型。
由于儿童有不同的偏好，不存在“一刀切”的交流方式。最常使用的创造性方法，绘画和使用人体模型，将为与服务使用者共同开发的量身定制的物理治疗干预措施的设计提供信息。
这次公众参与活动突出了儿童在塑造研究过程以指导干预措施开发方面可以发挥的宝贵作用。包括这次活动在内的更广泛的研究计划得到了大学医学院青年咨询小组的支持，该小组由 9 名年龄在 14 至 18 岁的成员组成，他们在两次 1 小时的会议期间通过帮助确定所使用的方法积极做出了贡献。
关于公众参与所依据的更广泛研究计划已在 ISRCTN 注册中心注册并列出，研究注册号为 ISRCTN18918987。
