ab22116

Well-being in children with juvenile chronic arthritis

C. Sällfors¹, L.R.-M. Hallberg¹, A. Fasth²

¹The Nordic School of Public Health, Göteborg; ²Department of Paediatrcs, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden.

ABSTRACT
Objective
The aim of this study was to describe a model for predicting well-being in children with juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA).

Methods
125 children (43 boys) (median age 14.1 yrs; range 10.3 - 17.8) rated disability and discomfort (Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire). Pain control, pain reduction and fatigue were evaluated (visual analogue scales). In addition, variation of pain intensity was rated by a pain intensity scale. Analysis by the stepwise regression technique was used to explain the variability in well-being. Eight independent variables were included as possible predictors in the model (p < 0.1).

Results
The analyses indicated that well-being in children with JCA is related to three clusters of variables; pain 'as it normally is', number of pain-free days and attending physical education classes. The analysis explained a substantial portion of the total variance in the children's well-being (55.1%).

Conclusion
Pain is a robust predictor of well-being in children with JCA. This supports the concept of the benefits of reducing chronic joint pain as a major goal in caring of these children.

Key words
Pain, coping, quality of life, juvenile chronic arthritis.

The present study was supported by grants to Christina Sällfors from The Queen Silvia Foundation.
Please address correspondence and reprint requests to: Christina Sällfors, The Nordic School of Public Health, Box 12133, SE-402 42 Gšteborg, Sweden.
E-mail: Christina.sallfors@telia.com