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Differences in the child, mother, and nurses' pain score measurements during pediatric venipuncture
Hanieh Neshat1, Fatemeh Ghorbani2
1Pediatric Health Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Insights
Children
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pain Management
- Child Psychology
- Nursing Research
Background:
- Accurate pain assessment in children is crucial for effective pain management.
- Self-reporting pain is standard in adults but presents unique challenges in pediatric populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare pain assessments of children, mothers, and nurses during intravenous (IV) line insertion.
- To evaluate pain perception in preschool children undergoing surgery.
Main Methods:
- Descriptive observational study involving 140 preschool children.
- Pain assessed using the Wong-Baker Face Scale (WBFS) by child, mother, and nurse post-IV insertion.
- Data analyzed using descriptive statistics and repeated measures ANOVA.
Main Results:
- Children's reported pain scores were significantly higher than nurses' scores (P=0.017).
- No significant difference was found between child-mother and nurse-mother pain score comparisons.
- Mothers' pain assessments closely correlated with their children's assessments.
Conclusions:
- Mothers' pain assessments can serve as a reliable indicator of a child's pain level.
- Mothers may help moderate and validate nurses' pain assessments in young children.
- Effective pain management requires enhanced communication among child, mother, and healthcare providers.
Background:
Self-reporting is the gold standard for measuring pain in adult pain management; however, this issue is unique and different in children. Accurate pain assessment for the appropriate management of children's pain is important.
Purpose:
This study was conducted to assess the pain level by the child, mother, and nurse during intravenous line insertion in preschool children, candidates for surgery in Tabriz Children's Hospital.
Design And Methods:
This is descriptive observational study. A total of 140 eligible children were included in the study using convenience and sequential methods. The intravenous line was inserted by an experienced nurse and pain assessment was performed by the child, mother, and nurse immediately after procedure, using the Wong-Baker face scale (WBFS). The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and repeated measures ANOVA test using SPSS version 13 software.
Results:
The difference between child-mother and nurse-mother mean scores was not statistically significant; however, there was a statistically significant difference between the score measured by the child and the nurse (P = 0.017).
Conclusion:
The children's pain assessment score during venipuncture was higher than that of mothers and nurses. The mothers' score was more closely related to the children's score. As a result, a mother's assessment can be considered a reliable estimation of proper pain management in young children and mothers can act as a moderator and actualize the nurses' score. Consequently, establishing a three-way communication between mother, child, and nurses is necessary to precisely estimate the child's actual pain and take appropriate measures to reduce it.
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