Investigating The Effect of Psychological Variables On Postoperative Pain In Children

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Despite the progress of pain management in children, the prevalence of postoperative pain remains a caring challenge. Given the multidimensional nature of pain and the effect of various factors on pain, the need to identify risk factors in preventing postoperative pain is felt. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the effect of psychological variables on postoperative pain in childrenMethods: This study was conducted following a descriptive-correlational study design. The samples of the study were 171 children aged 6-13 years who were conveniently selected from the selected children's hospital in Tehran according to the inclusion criteria. Data were collected using the “demographic questionnaire”, “Child Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale (CPASS)”, the Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and “Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ)” and analyzed using SPSS21 software.Results: Most of the 171 children participated were boys (65.5%) with a mean age of 9.58 years. The most common type of surgery was abdominal (53.2%), with an average surgery duration of 134.29 minutes. The results of regression analysis showed that postoperative pain was positively affected by child and parent anxiety and negatively affected by coping strategies. The postoperative pain increased 0.31 and 0.30 per unit increase in child and parent anxiety, respectively, and decreased 0.14 per unit increase in coping strategies.Conclusion: Based on the confirmation of the relationship between child and parent psychological variables on postoperative pain, identifying children at risk and presenting psychological interventions can be an effective step for managing postoperative pain and improving child and family comfort.