Parents’ Information Needs When Managing Children’s Postop Pain
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Parents’ Information Needs When Managing Their Children’s Postoperative Pain At Home
IRAS ID
184193
Contact name
Alison Twycross
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
London South Bank University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
C&W15/061, Trust R&D office local reference
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 0 days
Research summary
Around half a million children undergo surgery in England each year (National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death 2011) and a shift in care patterns toward day surgeries and decreased lengths of hospital stays results in parents being increasingly responsible for their child’s postoperative care. Of particular importance in children’s recovery from surgery is the management of postoperative pain. Unfortunately, many children experience moderate to severe levels of pain after common paediatric day surgeries (Fortier et al. 2009, Kankkunen et al. 2009, Shum et al. 2012, Wiggins 2009).
Research on the factors associated with parents’ under-management of postoperative pain has generally focused on parents’ attitudes about pain medication. Previous research has found that parents fear the side-effects of analgesic drugs; think they are addictive; and that children should receive as little pain medication as possible (Kankkunen et al. 2003c, Twycross et al. 2013, Zisk et al. 2007, Zisk-Rony et al. 2010). It has also been shown that parents may doubt postoperative dosing instructions and often report that discharge instructions about pain management are insufficient (Hamers & Abu-Saad 2002, Kankkunen et al. 2003a). This study will, therefore, explore parents’ experiences of managing their child’s pain at home after surgery. In particular it will focus on how helpful they found the information provided and what would have helped them manage their child’s pain more effectively.
REC name
West Midlands - Edgbaston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/WM/0056
Date of REC Opinion
22 Feb 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion