Intensity, location, and quality of pain in Spanish-speaking children with cancer.
Spanish speaking children with cancer were asked to describe their pain during the previous week prior to an oncology clinic appointment. Data showed that 41% of the children were experiencing pain and the overall mean pain intensity rating among these children was 5.7 +/- 2.7. Among those children with moderate to severe pain, the most frequently marked locations on the body outline diagram was the abdomen (53.8%), lower back (46.2%), and upper chest (30.8%). The higher percentage of children complaining of abdominal pain may be attributed to the high percentage (63.6%) of children reporting oral chemotherapy at home. Some children experienced pain that was unrecognized and undetected, and therefore were not receiving medications. To minimize the risk of under-treatment of pain, children and parents may be taught to use the Spanish version of the Adolescent Pediatric Pain Tool to communicate the child's pain to clinicians.
Jacob
Eufemia
E
University of California, Los Angeles, School of Nursing, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
McCarthy
Kathy S
KS
Sambuco
Gennaro
G
Hockenberry
Marilyn
M
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D001296:Audiovisual Aids; D002648:Child; D003144:Communication Barriers; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019303:Multilingualism; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000208:ethnology; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology; D002666:Psychology, Child; D011779:Q-Sort; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology; D014175:Translating