The Treatment of Pediatric Pain in Spain: A Survey Study

Abstract

Pain is a common experience among children and adolescents, and pain management in this population is a challenge to clinicians. The aims of this study were to increase our understanding of current practices in the management of both acute and chronic pediatric pain in Spain, explore potential barriers to ideal practices, and identify professional needs as perceived by healthcare professionals. A total of 277 healthcare professionals took part, all of whom had wide experience in managing children and adolescents with pain (M [SD] age = 44.85, [10.73]; 75% women). Participants had to respond to a web-based survey with 50 questions related to pain education, organizational characteristics of their pain programs (including the characteristics of the patients treated), and current practices in the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with pain. Almost all the participants (93%) acknowledged important gaps in their training, and only 47% reported that they had received specific education on the management of pediatric pain during their undergraduate and postgraduate studies. A third (31%) were members of multidisciplinary teams, and almost all (99%) understood that protocols to guide the management of pain in young people were necessary. However, only a few of them used a protocol to assess and treat (56% and 48%, respectively) acute and chronic pain (24% and 23%, respectively). The data also showed that a lack of pain education, coordination of professionals, and guidelines was perceived as an important barrier in the care provided to children and adolescents with pain in Spain. The findings of this study can now be used by healthcare professionals in Spain interested in managing pediatric pain, as well as policymakers concerned to improve the education of professionals and the care given to young people with pain.

Pediatric Surgeons’ Approaches to Postoperative Analgesia in Türkiye

“…We believe that the lack of training or information on multimodal analgesia methods among most participants, along with the anesthesiologists' tendency to primarily use IV drugs for postoperative pain management, may have contributed to this result. Similarly, Miró et al [18] have suggested that limited access to sufficient education and training is one of the main obstacles to proper pain management by healthcare professionals in pediatric cases.…”

Chronic pain in children and young people with cerebral palsy: a narrative review of challenges, advances, and future directions

“…Parents are requesting interventions other than pharmacological as many children take numerous medications which are often limited by adverse side effects [ 21 ]. Clinicians have reported key barriers to effective pain management including a lack of access to some interdisciplinary team members and inadequate pain education for health professionals and children and families [ 66 , 67 ].…”