Knowledge of Chinese Pediatric Professionals Regarding Pediatric Pain Management

Abstract

Many healthcare professionals base their perceptions of pediatric pain on their knowledge of the subject. Therefore, knowledge deficits in this area may yield negative attitudes toward pain management and add to the complexity of pain management in hospitalized children. This study evaluated the knowledge of pediatric clinicians in China regarding pediatric pain management. Adopting a cross-sectional descriptive comparative design, we surveyed pediatric clinicians using a structured questionnaire. Inclusive criteria were pediatric clinicians, both pediatricians and nurses, with professional pediatric experience of over one year. A total of 507 pediatric clinicians participated. Most were aware of the importance of pain management in sick children but misunderstood pediatric pain, lacked knowledge for performing pediatric pain assessments and lacked knowledge for providing pain relief interventions. Background factors including differing professions (pediatricians and nurses; p = 0.012), age (p < 0.05) and hospital setting of employment (p = 0.003) were significantly related to clinicians’ knowledge regarding pain management. Participating pediatricians had higher levels of knowledge of pediatric pain management than nurses. Research revealed four barriers affecting clinicians’ knowledge, including misconception of pain in children, lack of professional knowledge and confidence in the practice of pediatric pain assessment, lack of professional knowledge to provide pain relief interventions, and a significant knowledge gap between pediatricians and nurses. The results point out a crucial need for multidisciplinary education to remedy these deficiencies. Further study is needed to explore strategies to strengthen clinicians’ knowledge of this vital area of practice.

Self-Assessed Educational Needs of Chinese Pediatric Clinicians Regarding Pediatric Palliative Care: A Cross-Sectional Investigation

“…According to the results in Table 3, most participants, both physicians and nurses, identified "pain management", "symptom management", and "discussing the prognosis with family members" as their three greatest educational needs. These results were likely consistent with previous studies and suggest that participating clinicians value pain and symptom management in end-of-life care and strongly desire more training in these areas [11,17,18].…”

“…As we know, helping families understand the ineffectiveness of current treatments is an important step in choosing palliative care for critically ill children [ 19 , 20 ]. The literature also revealed that, due to inadequate communication and fear of medical disputes, even if clinicians recognize that ineffective treatment prolongs physical and mental suffering in critically ill children, most tend to repress their own feelings and values, leaving critical medical decisions to the families of patients in hopes of minimizing medical conflicts and disputes [ 4 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. This could explain why research participants, particularly physicians and those with more experience in end-of-life care, expressed a need for training in communication skills ( Table 3 ).…”

Pain Management in Pediatric Burns: A Review of the Science behind It

“…12. [58]. Evidencebased guidelines should address these barriers and provide recommendations for overcoming them to ensure optimal pain management in children.…”

“…Te development of age-appropriate formulations and dosing guidelines for analgesic medications has facilitated safe and efective pain relief in children [65]. In addition, the use of adjuvant medications, such as antidepressants or anticonvulsants, has shown promise in managing neuropathic pain in pediatric populations [58]. Tese pharmacological advancements provide healthcare providers with a wider range of options to tailor pain management strategies to the specifc needs of each child.…”