The following is a summary of “How do we explain painful non-traumatic knee conditions to adolescents? A multiple-method study to develop credible explanations,” published in the November 2023 issue of Pain by Djurtoft et al.
Adolescents grappling with perceived diagnostic uncertainty may face challenges in comprehending their health status and developing a clear understanding of their condition. Researchers conducted a retrospective study to develop credible explanations about non-traumatic knee pain for adolescents.
They integrated results from two systematic literature searches encompassing qualitative and quantitative studies, engaged in an Argumentative Delphi with international experts (n = 16), and conducted think-aloud interviews with adolescents (n = 16). Feedback from experts, consisting of arguments on communicating credible explanations tailored to adolescents’ needs, was analyzed using thematic analysis. The answers were customized based on input from the adolescent end-users.
The results showed 3,239 titles/abstracts, which yielded 16 papers exploring diagnostic uncertainty from adolescents’ and parents’ perspectives. Five key themes were identified: comprehending pain causes, feeling stigmatized for an invisible condition, naming the pain, controlling pain concerns, and worrying about overlooking something serious. The Argumentative Delphi identified four themes: a multidimensional perspective, tailoring to adolescents, validation and reassurance, and careful wording. Combining findings from the systematic search and the Delphi, three essential domains were identified for addressing credible description: “What is non-traumatic knee pain and what this means?”, “What is causing my knee pain?” and “How do I manage my knee pain?”
They concluded that six credible explanations were developed for common non-traumatic knee pain diagnoses, highlighting three key domains to tailor answers for adolescents.
Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejp.2210
