Children's ratings of postoperative pain compared to ratings by nurses and physicians

Lynda L. Lamontagne, Barbara D. Johnson, Joseph T. Hepworth

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Scopus citations

Abstract

Children's ratings of their postoperative pain were compared to nurses' and physicians' ratings of the children's postoperative pain. Children and adolescents were able to rate their pain using a visual analogue scale CVAS). Although there were differences between groups on their mean pain ratings, the ratings of the nurses and physicians correlated significantly with the children's pain ratings. Also, the correlation between nurses and physicians was highly significant, indicating that the use of a VAS may help nurses and physicians explore the cues used to estimate children's pain. This dialogue may enhance communication and collaboration between professionals about pain management strategies specific to each child's pain experience.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)241-247
Number of pages7
JournalIssues in Comprehensive Pediatric Nursing
Volume14
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1991
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pediatrics

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