Children and pain: Assessment and management according to parents' perspective

Pain in children is frequent. Parents evaluate their children's pain to decide how to manage it or to share information with caregivers. This qualitative descriptive study aims to identify elements influencing the evaluation and management of pain in children from a parent's perspective. Participants were recruited through a pediatric center and university family medicine clinic. Participants had to have used medication for their child that was prescribed "as needed" to manage their child's pain in the month preceding the interview, whether it was a prescription-strength medication or an over-the-counter strength prescription. Semi-directed interviews 30-45 min in duration were conducted with 16 parents in the Outaouais region of Quebec (Canada), either at the participant's home or by phone (after the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic). A thematic analysis was completed to identify themes in the data from these individual interviews. The evaluation of children's pain by their parents is influenced by the parents' experience with pain and the expression of the pain by the children, whereas the actions to relieve the pain are based on the beliefs surrounding pain management in children. Evaluation of pain is complex since many parents' beliefs influence this evaluation and the subsequent pain management. The study results raise healthcare professionals' awareness regarding several elements which influence the evaluation of children's pain and its management by their parents.