Process Evaluation of a Pain Management Educational Intervention for Parents of Children Undergoing Elective Surgery

Abstract

Purpose: To explore parents’ perceptions of the educational intervention programme regarding their children’s postoperative pain management. 
 Design and Methods: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted. Thirty-two parents whose children underwent inpatient elective surgery were recruited from the two intervention groups (received an educational booklet and a video, with or without an hour of face-to-face teaching session) for this qualitative evaluation of the intervention. Participants were asked to comment on the content and delivery methods of the intervention via individual face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes from the data.
 Results: Three themes were generated from 32 participants’ interview data: current pain management practices, experiences and benefits of the educational intervention, and suggestions to improve pain management. 
 Conclusions: Our findings suggested that the educational intervention in children’s postoperative pain management was helpful for parents and their children. However, it is necessary to improve educational materials and equip healthcare professionals with non-pharmacological pain relief methods.
 Practice Implications: Our findings reveal the current challenges in extensively adopting non-pharmacological pain relief methods. Healthcare professionals can do more to routinely integrate pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain management strategies in relieving pain effectively. Future research could develop technology-based programmes to increase ease of access. 
 Trial Registration Number: ISRCTN24910957.