PAIN ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT IN PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGY PATIENTS

Abstract

The purpose of this honors thesis is to propose an evidence based best practice protocol for pain assessment and pain management in pediatric oncology patients. Pain is one of the most distressing aspects of treatment of cancer. Many pediatric oncology patients’ pain is undertreated or not treated as effectively as possible. The protocol presented was created to improve the quality of care and reduce the amount of pain experienced in this patient population. A literature review was performed on 11 studies retrieved from PubMed and CINHAL databases related to pain assessment, pharmacological pain management, and non-pharmacological alternative therapies for pain management. The evidence based recommendations for pain assessment were to use the Wong-Baker FACES® Pain Scale, FLACC scale, PQRST scale and Brief Pain survey depending on the age and developmental level of the patient. The pharmacological pain management was recommended for nurses to properly administer scheduled analgesia and administer pain medication per request. The recommended alternative therapies for pain management included are meditation, music therapy, massage therapy, and hypnosis. Evaluation of pain management will be performed by the patients and nurses’ assessment of the effectiveness of the pain management interventions.