Knowledge, attitude and practices among health care professionals regarding pain.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices among health care professionals regarding pain in children.


METHODS
This was a prospective descriptive survey conducted at a tertiary care hospital in north India. A semi structured questionnaire regarding pain in children was administered to pediatric residents and nurses in a teaching hospital. The questionnaire consisted of 24 items, of which 18 items were rated on a 5-point scale ('strongly agree' to 'strongly disagree') and 6 items were open-ended questions.


RESULTS
The response rate was 89.5%. Of 77 participants, 47 (61.1%) were nurses and 30 (38.9%) were pediatric residents. The knowledge about pain scales among the studied healthcare professionals was not widespread. Majority of respondents believed that the best judge of intensity of pain is the child. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents felt that non-pharmacological measures were better to control pain and also their practices showed that most were willing to allow the parental presence during minor invasive procedures.


CONCLUSIONS
There is need to improve the knowledge of health care personnel regarding pain assessment and management in children.
Subhashini
Lavanya
L
College of Nursing, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. lavanya_subhashini@yahoo.co.in
Vatsa
Manju
M
Lodha
Rakesh
R
D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D010146:Pain / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010372:Pediatrics; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires