Chronic pain in children is a silent epidemic costing Australia billions in lost productivity every year, with new research showing almost half of carers have to quit their jobs or reduce work hours to be able to care for their child.
The inaugural Kids in Pain Report from national peak consumer body Chronic Pain Australia shows how pain affects every aspect of life for 877,000 children and young people nationally, as well as their families.
One in five carers (19 per cent) have had to resign from work, while a further 28 per cent reduced work hours and 30 per cent took unpaid leave.
This disproportionately affects women, who are most likely to be the primary carer for a child with chronic pain. While 37 per cent of carers rely on working from home arrangements, 18 per cent of people had to change jobs due to their child’s condition. One in 20 carers said they were fired due to their child’s ongoing needs.
Lifting the lid on the experience of chronic pain in children, the Kids in Pain Report found:
- Every aspect of life is affected – 84% of children struggle with sleep, 85.1% are unable to participate in sport, and 83% experience significant mental health impacts.
- Schooling suffers – 83% miss school due to pain, 81% reduce participation in activities, and 57% fall behind academically.
- Healthcare fails families – 64% wait more than three years for a diagnosis or receive none at all. Seventy one per cent (71%) are told their pain is due to anxiety, 54% passed off their pain as “growing pains” and 49% were told it was “normal”.
- Neurodivergence is common – Almost three-quarters (73%) of children with chronic pain have at least one neurodivergent diagnosis, most commonly autism (40%), ADHD (35%), auditory processing disorder (10.9%) and dyslexia (10%) which complicates diagnosis and treatment.
- There is a gender pain gap – girls and young women are disproportionately
affected, making up nearly six in ten (57%) of children living with chronic
pain compared with just over a third (36%) of boys.
Chronic Pain Australia chairperson, Nicolette Ellis, said: “We know one in every five children in Australia experiences chronic pain and it’s costing families and our nation dearly.”
“Too often, children’s pain is dismissed, even by health professionals, as anxiety, growing pains, or just normal. Families are left on long and expensive merry-go-rounds for answers and many children wait up to three years for a diagnosis.”
“Chronic pain has been the leading cause of disability and lost productivity in Australia for decades, yet it is still not recognised as a condition in its own right. This lack of recognition means chronic pain is missing from policy, analysis and service planning and our children are paying the price.”
“If the Federal Government is serious about boosting productivity, we need urgent recognition and investment in chronic pain diagnosis, management and treatment for children so that these families can get the care and support they so desperately need.”
Chronic pain persists for more than three months. While about a quarter of young people report the onset of their pain between ages 10 and 12, about one in ten experience pain from birth.
The Kids in Pain Report marks Kids in Pain week, which runs from 22 September to 28 September.
The report is available here, along with free resources and support here.
For media enquiries contact media@chronicpainaustralia.org.au