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Pediatric pain management practices in postoperative units

Despite available research on pediatric pain management, pain is still underestimated and undertreated. According to research, nurses’ attitudes and lack of knowledge are some possible causes. This study will explore nurses’ knowledge and attitudes towards pediatric pain management and the pediatric postoperative pain management practice.

Boy in hospital bed

Despite available research on pediatric pain management, pain is still underestimated and undertreated. Illustration: Colourbox

About the project

It is a tailored educational intervention study with a pre-post design and a comparison group (baseline T-1, one month after intervention T-2, and six months after the intervention), including a sample of nurses working in six postoperative units of each of the six university hospitals, covering all health regions in Norway. Three different approaches will be used (survey with questionnaire, observations of clinical practice and interviews with children) to collect data about pediatric postoperative pain management in this study.

Objectives

The main objective of the present study is to improve pediatric postoperative pain management. This will be achieved by first exploring the pediatric postoperative pain management practice using different approaches (study 1). Then, an intervention will be developed based on the results from the first study and available research in the area (study 2). After that, we will investigate if the tailored interventions with nurses at postoperative units improve the nurses’ knowledge of pediatric pain management and pediatric pain management practice (study 3).

Background

Pain in children and adolescents is underestimated and undertreated even if a lot of research is done in the area. Research suggests that lack of knowledge about pain and pain management in children are one of the reasons for the undertreatment .

Untreated pain can cause unnecessary suffering, increased risk of complications, increased risk of morbidity and mortality, as well as lead to longer hospital stays and increased cost. Nurses who work at postoperative units have a considerable responsibility to ensure optimal pain management. Few studies have examined the effectiveness of educational interventions on pediatric nurses' pain management. There is a need to explore this further.

This is a tailored educational intervention study with a pre-post design and a comparison group (baseline T-1, one month after intervention T-2, and six months after the intervention), including a sample of nurses working in six postoperative units of each of the six university hospitals, covering all health regions in Norway. Three different approaches will be used (survey with questionnaire, observations of clinical practice and interviews with children) to collect data about pediatric postoperative pain management in this study.

Sub-projects

 

  1. Explore nurses’ pediatric postoperative pain management
  2. Develop a tailored educational intervention
  3. Implement and evaluate the intervention

Financing

  • Medicines for Children Network, Norway
  • Children's Surgical Department, Oslo University Hospital, Norway
  • Norwegian Nurses Organization
  • Sykehusbarn

Cooperation

  • All 6 University hospitals in Norway
  • London South Bank University
  • Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital, Stockholm
  • Oslo and Akershus University College of applied Sciences

Start - finish

2014 - 2023

Published Oct. 7, 2016 3:00 PM - Last modified Feb. 13, 2023 5:32 PM

Contact

Project leader Tone Rustøen

Participants

  • Tone Rustøen Universitetet i Oslo
  • Anja Hetland Smeland Universitetet i Oslo
  • Alison Twycross, London South Bank University (co- supervisor)
  • Stefan Lundeberg, Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Stockholm
  • Hanne Reinertsen, HiOA
  • Lill Nybro, OUS
  • Torgunn Næss, OUS
  • Eva Carlsen, OUS
Detailed list of participants