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Community child health, public health, and epidemiology
Consumerism in healthcare can be detrimental to child health: lessons from children with functional abdominal pain
  1. K J Lindley1,
  2. D Glaser2,
  3. P J Milla3
  1. 1Department of Gastroenterology, Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, London, UK
  2. 2Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, London, UK
  3. 3Department of Gastroenterology, Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to:
    Dr K J Lindley
    Department of Gastroenterology, Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, Great Ormond Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK; k.lindleyich.ucl.ac.uk

Abstract

Aims: To determine prognostic indicators in children with severe functional abdominal pain (FAP) and to test the hypothesis that “healthcare consumerism” in these families might be deleterious to the child.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of a cohort of 23 children aged <16 years fulfilling the Rome II diagnostic criteria for FAP during the period December 1997 to February 2001. Poor outcome was defined as continued pain and failure to return to normal functioning >12 months after onset.

Results: Poor outcome was associated with refusal to engage with psychological services, involvement of more than three consultants, lodging of a manipulative complaint with hospital management by the child’s family, and lack of development of insight into psychosocial influences on symptoms. Three of four adverse prognostic indicators reflected healthcare consumerism by the families.

Conclusions: Actions of families who lack insight into their child’s illness may perpetuate FAP in childhood. A culture of parental consumerism in healthcare, however well intentioned, needs to be accompanied by robust systems to protect the interests of the child.

  • abdominal
  • functional
  • pain

https://doi.org/10.1136/adc.2003.032524

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    Footnotes

    • Funding: Research at the Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust benefits from R&D funding received from the NHS Executive

    • Competing interests: none declared

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