Evaluating Knowledge, Practices, and Barriers of Paediatric Pain Management among Nurses in a Tertiary Health Facility in the Northern Region of Ghana: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study
Table 2
Knowledge of paediatric pain management among nurses.
Variable
Frequency (n = 180)
Percent
Children may sleep in spite of severe pain
Yes
28
15.6
No
152
84.4
Underdeveloped neurological system makes children under 2 years of age have decreased pain sensitivity and limited memory of painful experiences
Yes
108
60.0
No
72
40.0
Young infants, less than 6 months of age, cannot tolerate opioids for pain relief
Yes
107
59.4
No
73
40.6
Vital signs are always reliable indicators of the intensity of a child’s pain
Yes
117
65.0
No
63
35.0
Children who can be distracted usually do not have severe pain
Yes
62
34.4
No
118
65.6
Children less than 8 years old cannot reliably report pain so nurses should rely solely on parent’s assessment of the child’s pain intensity
Yes
73
40.6
No
107
59.4
Intravenous route is the recommended route for administering opioid analgesics in children
Yes
111
61.7
No
69
38.3
Children with a background of continuous, persistent pain, the oral route is used in the administration of opioid analgesics
Yes
89
49.4
No
91
50.6
Analgesics for postoperative pain should initially be given only when the child asks for the medication
Yes
24
13.3
No
156
86.7
Behavioral observation scales are the most reliable measures of assessing pain and sedation in intubated/ventilated children
Yes
126
70.0
No
54
30.0
Opioids should not be used during the pain evaluation period, as this could mask the ability to correctly diagnose the cause of the pain if the source of the child’s pain is unknown
