Pain by proxy: An ethnographic study on the relational co-construction of the agency of young children in healthcare encounters

Access to pain management is a human right. Nevertheless, research consistently reports that children's pain is under-recognised and under-treated compared to that of adults. Additionally, younger children are less likely to receive treatment for their pain. The significance of early-life healthcare experiences is often underestimated due to constructions of young children as passive rather than active agents in healthcare. This study addresses this issue by examining how children's agency is co-constructed within the triad of children, caregivers, and healthcare professionals during childhood vaccination consultations. Field notes were collected describing vaccination consultations involving children aged two months to seven years, with an overrepresentation of children under the age of two due to the study's focus. Ethnographic observations (∼275.5 h) were held in Belgium, Italy, and Portugal, due to their diversity in healthcare system characteristics, vaccination policy, and coverage. Data were analysed using template analysis, a specific type of thematic analysis. Findings illustrate that children inherently possess agency, which can be hindered or facilitated by caregivers and healthcare professionals in the healthcare setting. Although clinical guidelines on pain mitigation for paediatric vaccinations exist, the findings show that these are not consistently applied in practice. Providing a framework for understanding the variability in paediatric pain mitigation, we highlight the socio-cultural conditions by which young children are either socialised into the patient role, or have their status as patients undermined. In pursuit of quality healthcare and pain mitigation for children during vaccination consultations, it is necessary that they are considered and treated as active, embodied healthcare agents.