Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026
An Experimental Paradigm for the Prediction of Post-Operative Pain (PPOP)
Published on: January 27, 2010
Children's nurses' post-operative pain management practices: an observational study
1Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences, Kingston University, St. George's University of London, London, UK. atwycros@hscs.sgul.ac.uk <atwycros@hscs.sgul.ac.uk>
Insights
Nurses often fail to routinely assess pediatric post-operative pain or use non-drug pain relief methods. These suboptimal practices require improvement to align with best practice guidelines for children
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nursing
- Pain Management
- Evidence-Based Practice
Background:
- Children frequently experience unrelieved moderate to severe post-operative pain.
- Existing evidence-based guidelines for pediatric pain management are not consistently applied in practice.
- There is a need to understand current nursing practices in managing children's pain.
Purpose of the Study:
- To observe and document how nurses manage post-operative pain in children.
- To evaluate the adherence of current nursing pain management practices to established guidelines.
Main Methods:
- An observational study was conducted on a pediatric surgical ward.
- Data were collected over 185 hours across 36 shifts, observing 13 registered nurses.
- An observer-as-participant role was utilized for continuous shadowing of nurses.
Main Results:
- Analgesic drugs were administered when children reported pain.
- Routine pain assessment and the regular use of non-pharmacological pain relief methods were infrequent.
- Overall pain management practices require significant improvement to meet current recommendations.
Conclusions:
- Sub-optimal pediatric pain management may stem from professional or ward culture.
- Gaps in nurses' theoretical knowledge may hinder effective pain management.
- Pain management may not be consistently prioritized, necessitating further investigation.
Background:
Children continue to experience unrelieved moderate to severe pain post-operatively despite the evidence to guide practice being readily available. Previous studies have relied on self-report measures; there is a need to establish exactly how nurses manage children's pain in practice.
Objectives:
To ascertain how nurses actually manage post-operative pain in children and whether pain management practices adhere to current best practice guidelines.
Design:
An observational study was carried out. Structured and unstructured data were collected.
Setting:
A children's surgical ward in the English Midlands caring for children from birth to 16 years.
Participants:
Registered nurses (n=13) took part in the study.
Methods:
Each participant was observed continuously for a period of 5 hours per shift for two to four shifts each. The role of the observer as participant was adopted whereby the researcher could shadow the nurse and act primarily as an observer. Data were collected for 36 shifts (185 hours).
Results:
While nurses administered analgesic drugs when a child complained of pain, in most other areas practices did not conform to current recommendations and are in need of improvement. Nurses did not, for example, routinely assess a child's pain, nor use non-drug methods of pain relief on a regular basis.
Conclusions:
The sub-optimal pain management practices may be attributable to several factors. The professional culture of nursing and/or ward culture may result in poor pain management practices being perpetuated. Nurses may not have the requisite theoretical knowledge to manage pain effectively. A lack of priority may also be attributed to pain management. These areas need exploring further.
Related Concept Videos
01:23Peripheral Artery Disease V: Postoperative Nursing Management
01:22Aneurysm IV: Nursing Management
01:26Endoscopic Procedures IV: Sigmoidoscopy and Laproscopy
Sigmoidoscopy
Sigmoidoscopy is a diagnostic procedure that uses a flexible sigmoidoscope equipped with a light source and camera to examine the rectum and sigmoid colon. The procedure involves inserting the tube through the anus...
01:16Kidney Transplant III: Nursing Management
01:28Cardiomyopathy VII: Pre and Post Operative Nursing Management