This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Simons, J. Articles by Moseley, L. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Simons, J. Articles by Moseley, L. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Influences on nurses' scoring of children's post-operative pain

Child Health, Faculty of Health and Human Sciences, Thames Valley University, Slough, UK, joan.simons{at}tvu.ac.uk

Laurence Moseley, MA

School of Care Sciences, University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, Wales, UK

There is a lack of clarity as to why some nurses are not delivering optimal pain management to children post-operatively. This retrospective chart review study examined nurses' pain scoring on 175 children during the first 24 hours post-operatively. Data were analysed on the amount of assessments made, assessment scores recorded, as well as the age, gender and type of surgery performed. One-quarter of children had no assessment record of their pain in the first 24 hours post-operatively. When the pain tool was part of an observation chart, nurses recorded more pain scores. Nurses' scoring of children's pain is influenced positively by children under five years of age and those who undergo abdominal surgery. Nurses who had access to one document for recording vital signs as well as pain scores were more likely to assess and record a child's pain score than nurses who had to use a separate chart.

Key Words: assessment • pain • post-operative care

Journal of Child Health Care, Vol. 13, No. 2, 101-115 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1367493509102468


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?