A study of the effectiveness of a pain management education booklet for parents of children having cardiac surgery

Parents need education about pain so they can support their hospitalized child and manage their child's pain at home. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a pain booklet on parental pain support to children experiencing postoperative pain. A randomized, repeated measure...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pain management nursing 2003-03, Vol.4 (1), p.31-39
Main Authors: Huth, Myra Martz, Broome, Marion E., Mussatto, Kathleen A., Morgan, Sarah Weller
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Analgesics - therapeutic use
Attitude to Health
Cardiac Surgical Procedures
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Health Education - standards
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Nursing
Pain Measurement
Pain, Postoperative - drug therapy
Parents - education
Parents - psychology
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Summary:Parents need education about pain so they can support their hospitalized child and manage their child's pain at home. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a pain booklet on parental pain support to children experiencing postoperative pain. A randomized, repeated measures, experimental design using a pain education booklet and a standard care comparison group was used to study parents of 51 children (3 to 16 years of age) having cardiac surgery. Measurement techniques used to assess differences in parental pain management included: attitudes about pain medication, child and parent pain ratings (Oucher), opioids used, recovery, satisfaction, and comfort in communication. Results indicate that children do report moderate levels of pain postoperatively. Parents who were exposed to the pain assessment and management for parents education booklet preoperatively significantly increased their knowledge and attitudes toward pain medication scores from pre- to post-test, whereas those in the control group remained stable. Post-test scores were not significantly different between groups. Child and parent pain ratings were significantly and positively correlated. Practice implications include the use of an educational booklet about pain with parents before surgery to increase their knowledge about and attitudes toward pain management. Additionally, a parent may provide an alternative pain report when a child is unable to or unwilling to self-report their pain. © 2003 by the American Society of Pain Management Nurses.
ISSN:1524-9042
1532-8635
DOI:10.1053/jpmn.2003.7