Parental attitudes to children’s pain and analgesic drugs in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Many children experience treatable moderate to severe pain following surgery. Increasingly, children undergo surgery as day cases, and, as such, parents are more likely to be responsible for managing pain post-operatively. Research in the United States and Finland has found parents fear the side effects of analgesics; think they are addictive; and that children should receive as little analgesia as possible. Little is known about parental attitudes in this context in the United Kingdom. This study set out to explore parental attitudes towards children's pain and analgesic drugs to contribute to existing knowledge about parental attitudes elsewhere so that the information provided to parents can be tailored effectively. A convenience sample of parents (n = 108) at one hospital in South West London completed the Parental Pain Expression Perceptions and the Medication Attitudes Questionnaires. Although many parents have a good understanding of the ways in which children express pain, a substantial proportion of parents hold misconceptions regarding how children express pain and concerns in relation to analgesic drugs. This may impact on the quality of the pain management provided to children post-operatively and needs taking into account when preparing parents in this context.

Assessment and management of pain in children and adolescents with bleeding disorders: a cross‐sectional study from three haemophilia centres

“…describe parental attitudinal barriers to pain management, stating that 50% of parents believe their child will always tell them that they are in pain, 38% state children express pain verbally with 22% believing their child exaggerates pain. Thus, it is likely that many children with bleeding disorders experience pain which is either not recognized by their parents or is ignored, thus they are not receiving timely appropriate pain relief; only 15.62% of participants in this study received analgesia . Young et al .…”

Hispanic parents’ experiences of the process of caring for a child undergoing routine surgery: A focus on pain and pain management

“…Sometimes parents choose to use non‐pharmacological methods, especially thermal regulation and distraction (Idvall, Holm, & Runeson, ). Patterns of inadequate postoperative pain management in children are seen across countries and cultures, including Australia, Canada, Finland, Singapore, and the United Kingdom (Darbyshire, ; Kankkunen, Vehvilainen‐Julkunen, & Pietilä, ; Lim, Mackey, Liam, & He, ; Twycross & Finley, ; Twycross, Williams, Bollad, & Sunderland, ). Written instructions and a brief interactive session post‐discharge have not been shown to effectively improve analgesic administration practices to relieve children's pain (Vincent et al., ).…”

Analgetikabedarf bei Kindern im Alter zwischen 2 und 12 Jahren nach Tonsillenoperationen

“…Dazu gehören Sorgen vor Nebenwirkungen und Abhängigkeiten sowie die Vorstellung, dass Kinder so wenig Schmerzmittel wie möglich erhalten sollten. Eltern wünschen sich ihrerseits mehr Informationen über die Evaluation von Schmerzen, nicht-pharmakologische Methoden der Schmerzstillung und sichere Höchstdosen von Medikamenten [34]. Das hier verwendete Tool PPPM-D zur Messung von Schmerzen durch die Eltern könnte einen Beitrag zu einer besseren Schmerztherapie leisten, bei der die Eltern eine Schlüsselrolle spielen -unabhängig davon, ob es sich um ambulante oder stationäre Operationen handelt.…”