Abstract
BackgroundThis systematic review is the first step in a study investigating the resilience methods and processes in families of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. In particular, this review will focus on chronic or persistent pain, as a common symptom of juvenile idiopathic arthritis, which is the most common rheumatic disease in childhood. The experience of persistent pain can add to the functional disability associated with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Resilience has relevance to all areas of paediatric psychology, and targeted attention to child, sibling, and parent strengths within the context of paediatric chronic pain and juvenile idiopathic arthritis in particular will augment the field on numerous levels. The objective is to determine which resilience processes are associated with a favourable quality of life in terms of academic, communication, emotional, interpersonal, physical, psychological, and social well-being in families of children with chronic pain associated with JIA.Methods/designThis systematic review will be conducted and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement and the PRESS (Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies) guideline.Longitudinal, cross-sectional, and treatment studies written in English will be included, as will grey literature (i.e. conference abstracts and dissertations).Studies involving participants who are 6–18 years of age, have been diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, are experiencing chronic pain, and are currently undergoing treatment will be included regardless of sex, arthritis type, and type of treatment. Studies including siblings who are 6–18 years of age and the patient’s parents will be included.DiscussionResearch exploring resilience within the adult population is accruing. Shifting our focus to protective factors of resilience in the context of paediatric chronic pain, specifically juvenile idiopathic arthritis, is a novel and promising pursuit that has the potential to optimize and inform future clinical practice and interventions. A better understanding of the role of reliance in family adaptation will facilitate the development of more effective treatment approaches and lay the foundation for more effective self-management in paediatric chronic pain.Systematic review registrationThis protocol is registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) database (registration: CRD42016047226).
Highlights
This systematic review is the first step in a study investigating the resilience methods and processes in families of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis
A better understanding of the role of reliance in family adaptation will facilitate the development of more effective treatment approaches and lay the foundation for more effective self-management in paediatric chronic pain
Systematic review registration: This protocol is registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) database
Summary
The proposed review will add to the literature in several ways. Research efforts to further the understanding of paediatric chronic pain experiences are usually focused on vulnerability factors for maladaptive coping in both children and their family, such as anxiety [19], depression [20], pain catastrophizing [21], and fear [22]. As a first important step in this direction, this review will summarize the current evidence on how resilience affects the parents and siblings on an individual level while simultaneously concentrating on how resilience affects the family unit This will be achieved through the application of the Resilience Resources and Mechanisms in Chronic Pain model developed by Cousins et al [9] as the main analytical framework. The authors of the Resilience Resources model acknowledge that both individual and family-based processes impact paediatric pain functioning and influence resilience [9]
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