Pediatric pain practices: A national survey of health professionals

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how health-care providers in U.S. teaching hospitals assess and manage children's pain. A 59-item questionnaire was sent to institutions with pediatric residency programs listed in the 1992 National Residency Matching Program. Two hundred and twenty-seven questionnaires were sent and 113 were returned. Two-thirds were from nurses, one-third from physicians. Sixty percent of the respondents stated that they had standards of care or protocols for pain in their institutions, but only one-quarter reported that the standards were followed 80% or more of the time. Use of formal pain-assessment tools was reported by 73% of the sample. Respondents reported that the effectiveness of pain assessment and management was lower for infants and younger children. Only 35% of the sample indicated it was "likely" or "very likely" that parents would be involved in planning prior to a painful event. Several obstacles to adequate pain management were identified by the respondents: knowledge deficit, attitudes, and resources.

Pain evaluation and management: a survey of Italian radiotherapists

“…On the contrary, an unsatisfactory percentage of correct answers resulted concerning the treatment of pain in children. This data confirms what has been reported in other surveys regarding the treatment of pain in children, and two explanations are plausible: pain in children is often underestimated and undertreated [3,14,16]; children in pain, especially if affected by cancer, are generally treated in dedicated departments and, consequently, general radiotherapists rarely treat children. No major statistical differences regarding age, position, region of residence, availability of consultants, and colleagues with main interest in palliative care have been registered.…”

Pain management: a nursing priority?

“…Respondents in Fuller and Conner's (1997) study stated that they learnt to assess pain &dquo;on the job&dquo;. Broome et al, (1996) found that the nurses in their study felt that a knowledge deficit was an obstacle to adequate pain management thereby corroborating the findings outlined above. Francke et al, (1996) state many nurses feel a need for continuing education about pain management.…”

Hemşirelerin ağrının farmakolojik olmayan yöntemlerle kontrolüne ilişkin bilgi ve uygulamaları

“…Temel hemşirelik eğitiminde farmakolojik olmayan yöntemler öğretilmektedir ancak hemşireler bu yöntemleri pratikte çok az gözlemledikleri ya da yaptıkları için bilgilerini unutmuş olabilirler. Farmakolojik olmayan yöntemlerin ağrı kontrolünde kullanılması gerektiği özellikle son yıllarda hem ders kitaplarında hem de çalışmalarda vurgulanmaktadır [6,7] Farmakolojik olmayan yöntemlere ilişkin yapılan çalışmalarda, bu yöntemlere ilişkin hemşirelerin ciddi bilgi eksikliklerinin olduğunu göstermektedir [26][27][28][29].…”