The Role of Positive Affect in Predicting the Onset of Pain in Pediatric Sickle Cell Patients

EuniceClark

Virginia Commonwealth University

"The Role of Positive Affect in Predicting the Onset of Pain in Pediatric Sickle Cell Patients"

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of inherited health conditions that affect the red blood cells. Millions across the globe are affected by SCD. More than 100,000 Americans and nine out of ten people in the United States who have SCD are of African descent. Individuals that carry SCD produce these abnormally shaped red blood cells (RBC) which can adversely affect the body. These red blood cells shaped like sickles do not live as long as healthy RBCs and can cause blockages in blood vessels that can lead to pain. Managing pain episodes is the focus of our current research. Valrie et al. (2021) showed that there were correlations between sleep quality and pain the next day and also positive affect and pain. Positive affect (PA) is measured using self-reported scales to evaluate the level of positive emotions a person is feeling at a certain time. Therefore, we have developed different mathematical models to study sickle cell disease pain, one of which shows the relationship between sleep and pain and the other that focuses on positive affect. Previous studies have considered PA as a mediator between sleep and pain, however for our research, we will treat positive affect as a potential driver to predict pain. This work utilizes diary data from pediatric patients and considers differences in the adolescent and children subpopulations.
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