Virtual multidisciplinary pain treatment: Experiences and feedback from children with chronic pain and their caregivers

Background: The onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) necessitated a rapid transition to virtual care for chronic pain treatment.

Objective: This study examined experiences of patients and caregivers who received virtual multidisciplinary pain treatment (MDT) for pediatric chronic pain between March 2020 and August 2021.

Methods: A mixed methods design was implemented using qualitative interviews and quantitative satisfaction surveys. Satisfaction surveys were administered to a convenience sample of patients (aged 8 to 18; N = 20) and their caregivers (N = 20) who received MDT through an outpatient hospital pediatric chronic pain program. Interviews were conducted with a subset of these patients and their caregivers (n = 6).

Results: Analysis of interviews revealed four themes: 1) benefits of virtual care; 2) challenges of virtual care; 3) recommendations and evaluation of virtual care; and 4) patient preferences. Analysis of the satisfaction survey data revealed that while patients and caregivers were satisfied with many aspects of virtual care, 65% (n = 13) of patients reported a preference for in-person appointments, with caregivers showing equal preference for in-person and virtual appointments, though this was a non-significant difference (p = .37). Overall, both patients and caregivers stated a stronger preference for in-person physiotherapy sessions but were willing to have psychology sessions provided virtually. Finally, the most reported preference was for a hybrid model of care incorporating at least some in-person contact with providers.

Conclusion: This study provides a rich exploration of virtual care for multidisciplinary pediatric chronic pain treatment. The current results may inform the future development of guidelines for virtual care delivery with pediatric chronic pain populations.