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This study describes how assessment and documentation of children's acute postoperative
pain is managed by nurses in university hospitals in Finland. A survey was conducted
of 303 nurses working in children's wards of university-affiliated hospitals, and
at the same time a retrospective chart review of 50 consecutive cases of operation
of acute appendicitis was carried out. Charts were analyzed by content analysis, and
the results of the survey are reported with percentage distribution and nonparametric
statistical calculations. The results indicate that nurses assess pain mainly by observing
the child's behavior and changes in physiology. Pain measurement instruments are rarely
used, and nurses do not recognize them. The documentation of pain care is unsystematic
and does not support the continuity of care. There is a clear need for development
of assessment and documentation practices in the studied hospitals. Future research
should look at the postoperative care of pain at home as well as care in non-university-affiliated
hospitals.
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© 1999 W.B. Saunders Company. Published by Elsevier Inc.
