PainChek has been featured in the spring issue of Western Australia – It’s Like No Other magazine, highlighting our partnership with The Telethon Kids Institute in WA to develop an app for children with disabilities, to help them communicate when they are in pain.
The project, “Detecting pain in kids who can’t tell you it hurts: PainChek for children with disabilities”, has received Government funding of nearly $400,000 and is led by Associate Professor Jenny Downs from Telethon Kids Institute on behalf of the University of Western Australia’s Centre for Child Health Research, together with Professor Jeff Hughes, PainChek’s Chief Scientific Officer.
Professor Downs commented that the new tool has the potential to reduce unpleasant experiences associated with many illnesses and healthcare procedures.
“It is critical to have tools to be able to support children who cannot speak for themselves,” she said. “It is especially distressing for parents whose child has difficulty communicating their pain to people who they do not know and who are more vulnerable when they are in hospital.”
“If the app is successful, it could be used in settings other than acute healthcare. For example, it may be useful for parents to understand if their child is experiencing acute pain at home and testing this will be an important future study.”
