title: Assessment and management of children's pain in community hospitals.
abstract: Registered nurses (n = 72) working in 10 paediatric units in community hospitals in north-eastern Ontario, Canada, participated in a descriptive study investigating how nurses assess and manage pain in children. A four-part questionnaire was used to collect the self-reported data. Twenty-five (36%) of the respondents defined pain as an individual and personal experience and another 25 (36%) respondents defined pain as a more or less localized sensation or discomfort resulting from the stimulation of specialized nerve endings. In response to three different clinical situations, the subjects' mean pain ratings were: 5.72 for an infant; 7.34 for a 3-year-old; and 7.29 for a 12-year-old child. The criterion 'nurses' judgment' was cited as being used frequently in both the assessment and decision making process; however, there was indication that some of the current knowledge in the assessment and management of pain in children was not known or being used.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Laurentian University, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Caty
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tourigny
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Koren
mesh_terms: D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003657:Decision Making; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007318:Inservice Training; D007600:Judgment; D009294:Narcotics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009633:Nonverbal Communication; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital; D009864:Ontario; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000451:nursing; D059408:Pain Management; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000188:drug therapy; D010290:Parents; D012944:Social Support
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D009294:Narcotics