Improving the management of children's pain.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Improving nursing care delivery of pain management to children through engagement with nurses, parents and children.
IRAS ID
319939
Contact name
Joan Simons
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Open University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 28 days
Research summary
Two million children are admitted to hospital every year in the UK and between 59 and 94% will experience pain, with 27- 40% of them experiencing moderate to severe pain (Kozlowski et al 2014, Groenewald at al 2012). A previous study (Simons et al., 2020) in which a framework of effective pain management was developed, found that empowering parents and effective communication between nurses and parents can help to engage parents and support a collaborative approach to children's pain management which is responsive to each individual child's needs (Simons et al., 2020).
In a previous study, an information leaflet and short video (animation) was prepared to support the engagement and empowerment of parents. This follow-on study aims to provide an animation for nurses. This will support their knowledge and understanding about how to encourage parental engagement and build collaborative partnerships with parents and children to provide responsive, individualised pain management.
We will interview parents, children and nurses using practice-based scenarios (vignettes) to identify each different party’s perspectives on the most effective ways of communicating and collaborating over the pain management process. Information gathered will be used to develop a short video (animation) which will be made easily and freely available. The animation will also be distributed across a network of pain specialists (The Paediatric Pain Travelling club) to promote its uptake and use.
A further follow-on study is planned, based on the findings of this research. This will pilot the use of both parent and nurse animations in a large children’s hospital in England to evaluate the effectiveness of the animations, the impact animations have upon the involvement of parents in the management of their child’s pain, and the impact that involvement may have on children’s experience of pain.REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/SC/0005
Date of REC Opinion
31 Jan 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion