BEST NURSING PRACTICES IN TREATING PEDIATRIC PAIN WITH SENSORY THERAPIES

Abstract

This Honors Thesis reviews the current research about the best nursing practices to alleviate pain through adjunct sensory therapies among the pediatric population. Children are at a disproportionally high rate for underdiagnosed and undertreated pain related to their ability to express, quantify, and or describe pain to healthcare professionals. This can be due to the pediatric populations wide range of cognitive abilities coupled with healthcare staff's lack of knowledge on assessment tools. Evidence-based articles within the past ten years were found using the databases ClinicalKey, Embase, PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Google Scholar. All articles focused on pediatric pain, interventions, and ways to decrease the unpleasant sensory experience. Other articles discuss the barriers to assessing pediatric pain, the use of age-appropriate tools, and ways to combat these issues. A majority of the interventions work based on the Gate Control Theory of pain that will be discussed in Chapter one. Interventions suggested in the paper adopt an Integrative Nursing Principle approach to care. This means that interventions should begin with the least invasive therapies. Sensory therapies are minimally invasive and rarely carry the burden of side effects. However, these therapies should be used as an adjunct with the use of prescribed analgesics to support the alleviation of pediatric pain and improve quality of care. Based on the review of current literature, this paper will highlight the best nursing practice recommendations for nurses, a plan for implementation, and an evaluation of the process.