Assessing Undergraduate Nursing Pediatric Pain Education in Turkey: A Content Analysis Study

To examine the incorporation of pediatric pain education within the curricula of undergraduate nursing programs, and to appraise the standard of educational content concerning pediatric pain based on IAPS Curriculum Outline on Pain for Nursing.

A descriptive content analysis study.

This study consisted of three phases. Initially, an online search was conducted to gather information on 4-year-undergraduate nursing programs from Turkey Council of Higher Education database via Google. In the second phase, official websites of identified undergraduate nursing programs were systematically searched to access their curricula. Finally, the teaching content at five universities that incorporated pediatric pain into their curricula was assessed according to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP)'s Curriculum Outline on Pain for Nursing.

Among the 97 universities offering a 4-year undergraduate nursing program, only 26 incorporated pediatric pain education into their curricula. A detailed evaluation of five of these 26 universities, using the IASP-recommended curriculum outline on pain for nursing, revealed that none of the five institutions addressed 10 of the 36 essential topics. Furthermore, only 7 topics were consistently covered across all five programs. Most topics were addressed superficially, with an emphasis on pain nature and nonpharmacological interventions, while interprofessional pain management and clinical conditions were largely overlooked.

Through its unique findings from Turkey, this research provides additional evidence to the widely recognized problem of pediatric pain education being disregarded within nursing curricula.

The limited integration of pediatric pain content in Turkish nursing curricula poses a significant barrier to nurses' ability to manage pain in children effectively. Strengthening this aspect of education is essential to ensure nurses are equipped with the necessary skills to provide comprehensive and effective pain care, ultimately improving outcomes for pediatric patients.