Qualitative Paper

Qualitative Report: Pediatric Pain Management in the Immediate Postoperative Phase

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Qualitative Report: Pediatric Pain Management in the Immediate Postoperative Phase

Introduction

As medical practices become more sophisticated, facilitating patients’ recovery alongside eliminating or minimizing the pain remains critical. In most places, adults have attained that goal; however, the same should apply to children as it’s proven that pediatric patients and neonates experience similar pain to adults (Havidich, 2020). Hence, they require improved medical attention that saves them from suffering. Access to pain management stands as a fundamental right and cannot be ignored. However, over eighty percent of the world population, including above one hundred and fifty countries, lack the therapy (Vittinghoff et al., 2018). The practice differs based on location, infrastructure, access to knowledge, and organizations.

While inadequate pain management process poses a threat to diverse groups, including lactating mothers, pregnant women, mentally impaired individuals, and drug addicts, it causes a more significant burden on children in the immediate postoperative phase. Clinicians and departments should inspire decision-making to advance and promote postoperative pain relief among children irrespective of the local context. Adherence to suggested guidelines helps improve pain management, for example, in pediatric tonsillectomy. Therefore, this qualitative report discusses pediatric pain management in the immediate postoperative stage.

Describing Qualitative research

Qualitative research refers to the method of collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and reporting non-numerical data. Also, it involves studying how an individual subjectively perceives and gives meaning to their social reality. It deals with non-quantifiable data such as open-ended conversations, beliefs, experiences, interactions, behavior, and attitude (Ng et al., 2018). In a pediatric pain management study, one may collect qualitative data such as the minimum standards of pediatric postoperative stage pain relief that children can expect after surgical procedures, even in settings with limited resources (Vittinghoff et al., 2018). Through questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups, one should collect detailed non-numerical data outlining how pediatric postoperative pain management may evolve and improve.

The study should focus on clinicians and departments that influence decision-making to improve and advance pediatric postoperative pain relief. It also seeks to understand which guidelines the participants propose or suggest to improve pain management among children (Ng et al., 2018). The study should provide a consensus practice advisory to the world health organizations and other responsible bodies promoting pain relief management. Much effort towards the same is seen in Europe and other European countries. However, the same should reflect in the over one hundred and fifty countries affected.

The qualitative research data should focus on parents in the neonatal care unit to understand pain management practices in pediatrics. The qualitative research should administer questionnaires from focus groups to collect non-numerical data from such participants. They can also manage the clinicians’ perceptions and their stand on matters of pediatric pain management. Such information can also help the researcher understand the various pains involved during child treatment and how the healthcare units can regulate or eliminate them.

Different treatments attract different pains with varying results from one patient to another. Hence, the qualitative research should invite members from each particular pain ladder group to deliver the individual pain management of their institution to collect the most common pain management concepts and drugs used for each type of operation. The data collector may form a focus group of such members who play a vital role in the day-to-day running of the pediatric care units. Moreover, the practice involves cost; hence collecting data from the parents can help understand their main issues (Riegel & Dickson, 2021). Some may argue that the pain management process remains costly, and the poor cannot afford the service for their children. Others may say that the available drugs for treating such pain have severe negative impacts on their children; hence, they may not prefer using them. Therefore, focusing on different parents from different locations and social classes can help gather a massive pool of data that gives a trend.

The data collected or the interviews directed to the participants must remain open-ended to help collect detailed information. Open-ended questions in qualitative methods allow respondents to share detailed information, unlike closed-ended questions where one chooses a particular option. The parents can give different scenarios regarding their experiences on the treatment of their children. Some may appreciate the role played by the clinicians and suggest what they need improving, while others may portray their satisfaction from the treatment and mean what they think the healthcare centers should do to save their children from severe pain (Ng et al. 2018). The pediatrics can also report on the challenges they face when offering the services and suggest possible solutions. They may also advise neonatal parents on the various steps to relieve their babies’ pain. It would also help the community to understand their role in facilitating healing for children either through supporting the parents financially or morally.

After collecting detailed data, the researcher should analyze it to determine the trends. Such information can help pediatric patients, clinicians, parents, and the community. It may help physicians understand the suggested treatment process that can save their patients from severe pain. The healthcare centers can rely on the report suggestions to set prices for different services and drugs to accommodate even the poor and save all children from immediate postoperative pain (Riegel & Dickson, 2021). The information can also help parents understand the children’s treatment procedures and how their pain can be relieved if the treatment is done outside the hospital.

Appraisal tools

qualitative research may employ a meta-synthesis design to compile and interpret the collected data. Meta-synthesis refers to a qualitative method of reviewing and integrating study findings. It systematically reviews and analyzes data from qualitative research and mainly applies it in specific situations for medical studies (Jin & Peng, 2021). Meta-synthesis is a modern technique and compiles examined research findings to allow analysis and organization into a phenomenon. It will enable researchers to assess the results, put together broken pieces, and form a report to help pediatric practitioners and neonatal parents.

Consequently, in the research that seeks to ease children’s pain during treatment, the meta-synthesis design method can help interpret the findings gathered from the qualitative study. According to Herber et al. (2019), situation-specific theories and findings give health practitioners a vehicle to analyze situations, control their decisions, and create assumptions concerning factors influencing a health problem (Jin & Peng, 2021). This study would apply meta-synthesis techniques to integrate pediatric pain management findings in the immediate postoperative phase.

In the second study, using narrative analysis would help complete the appraisal tool. The narrative analysis, also known as narrative inquiry, involves a qualitative study method. It consists of an author who analyses people’s stories when asking questions over a given text narrative for a specific reason (Kusi, 2020). For example, this text involves pediatric pain management; hence, the researcher should analyze stories of neonatal parents, pediatrics, and nurses operating in pediatric care units regarding the pain management practices in those units. It would apply the design because it involves a genre that analyzes and helps researchers interpret

Pediatric petitioners suggested oral and rectal administration of non-opioid drugs and regional anesthesia, which play a crucial role in pain management and are available in most places. Hence, the research recommends the use of ‘intravenous opioids, which are set aside for intraoperative use and the early postoperative period in settings with adequate monitoring” (Kusi, 2020). Also, Sub-anesthetic amounts of ketamine/S-ketamine can reduce intra- and early postoperative opioid requirements.

Article discussion

The research design methodology employed remains effective for collecting qualitative data, analyzing and interpreting the findings to help relieve pain in the postoperative stage among children. The data collected employs qualitative methods such as focus groups, questionnaires, and interviews. It used a sample size of around forty participants who included nurses and doctors from neonatal units and parents whose children obtained treatment there. The data collection targeted people who have experience bringing or offering service in the pediatric units and interacted with neonatal patients.

Moreover, the data collected remains trustworthy, credible, and reliable, as it originates from the primary source. It is also confirmable and transferrable as it uses a qualitative method to obtain detailed data. The results obtained can help improve pediatric care and ease pain in neonatal care.

Applicability of practice and future research

The research findings remain viable and applicable to help nurses and pediatric health practitioners manage pain among postoperative phase patients. According to Vittinghoff et al. (2018), a basic acceptable level of pain management is required, which should be achievable by all, even in institutions with limited resources. The study also found the importance of pain management among newborns and suggested possible solutions such as increasing drugs used in the hospital to relieve the pain. It also meant a decrease in the cost of pain-relieving medicines and services to make them affordable to all.

Pediatric petitioners suggested oral and rectal administration of non-opioid drugs and regional anesthesia, which play a crucial role in pain management and are available in most places. Hence, the proper application of such modalities can play a significant opioid-sparing role among neonatal patients. The research also recommends the use of ‘intravenous opioids, which are set aside for intraoperative use and the early postoperative period in settings with adequate monitoring”.

Conclusion

In conclusion, pediatric pain management for the postoperative phase remains a critical requirement among most countries worldwide. Improved and affordable drugs and practices are required to solve the challenge and help healthcare facilities relieve neonatal pain. The research conducted should use the qualitative method to collect detailed, firsthand, and reliable data for the study. It should focus on neonatal patients and parents, pediatric practitioners, and nurses who have direct experience with pain management for the postoperative phase. The research found out that proper drugs and reducing the prices of such medications can help pain management. Also, pediatric petitioners suggested oral and rectal administration of non-opioid medications and regional anesthesia, which play a crucial role in pain management and are available in most places. Therefore, clinicians and departments should inspire decision-making to advance and promote postoperative pain relief among children irrespective of the local context.

References

Havidich, J. (2020). Perioperative Pain Management in Newborns.

Herber, O. R., Kastaun, S., Wilm, S., & Barroso, J. (2019). From qualitative meta-summary to qualitative meta-synthesis: introducing a new Situation-Specific theory of barriers and facilitators for self-care in patients with heart failure. Qualitative health research, 29(1), 96-106.

Jin, Y., & Peng, Y. (2021). The Development of a Situation-Specific Nurse-Led Culturally Tailored Self-Management Theory for Chinese Patients With Heart Failure. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 10436596211023973.

Kusi Amponsah, A., Kyei, E. F., Agyemang, J. B., Boakye, H., Kyei-Dompim, J., Ahoto, C. K., & Oduro, E. (2020). Nursing-related barriers to children’s pain management at selected hospitals in Ghana: a descriptive qualitative study. Pain Research and Management, 2020.

Ng, S. L., Baker, L., Cristancho, S., Kennedy, T. J., & Lingard, L. (2018). Qualitative research in medical education: methodologies and methods. Understanding medical education: evidence, theory, and practice, 427-441.

Riegel, B., & Dickson, V. V. (2021). A Situation-Specific Theory of Heart Failure Self-Care. In Situation Specific Theories: Development, Utilization, and Evaluation in Nursing (pp. 149-160). Springer, Cham.

Vittinghoff, M., Lönnqvist, P. A., Mossetti, V., Heschl, S., Simic, D., Colovic, V., … & Morton, N. S. (2018). Postoperative pain management in children: Guidance from the pain committee of the European Society for Paediatric Anaesthesiology (ESPA Pain Management Ladder Initiative). Pediatric Anesthesia, 28(6), 493-506.