Knowledge of Chinese Pediatric Professionals Regarding Pediatric Pain Management

Abstract

Many healthcare professionals base their perceptions of pediatric pain on their knowledge of the subject. Therefore, knowledge deficits in this area may yield negative attitudes toward pain management and add to the complexity of pain management in hospitalized children. This study evaluated the knowledge of pediatric clinicians in China regarding pediatric pain management. Adopting a cross-sectional descriptive comparative design, we surveyed pediatric clinicians using a structured questionnaire. Inclusive criteria were pediatric clinicians, both pediatricians and nurses, with professional pediatric experience of over one year. A total of 507 pediatric clinicians participated. Most were aware of the importance of pain management in sick children but misunderstood pediatric pain, lacked knowledge for performing pediatric pain assessments and lacked knowledge for providing pain relief interventions. Background factors including differing professions (pediatricians and nurses; p = 0.012), age (p < 0.05) and hospital setting of employment (p = 0.003) were significantly related to clinicians’ knowledge regarding pain management. Participating pediatricians had higher levels of knowledge of pediatric pain management than nurses. Research revealed four barriers affecting clinicians’ knowledge, including misconception of pain in children, lack of professional knowledge and confidence in the practice of pediatric pain assessment, lack of professional knowledge to provide pain relief interventions, and a significant knowledge gap between pediatricians and nurses. The results point out a crucial need for multidisciplinary education to remedy these deficiencies. Further study is needed to explore strategies to strengthen clinicians’ knowledge of this vital area of practice.