Pediatric pain prevalence and parents' attitudes at a cancer hospital in Jordan

There has been little research on implementation of pediatric pain programs. These studies are part of a project to develop such a program for the King Hussein Cancer Centre in Jordan. Study 1 captured information on pain prevalence in 35 children using chart reviews and parent/child interviews to establish baseline pain burden. Forty-seven percent of children had pain at the time of interview; 11% had "a lot" of pain and only 22% received analgesics. Twenty-two parents were interviewed in Study 2 to identify attitudes toward pain management. Thematic. analysis revealed six themes: 1) pain, can, and should be managed; 2) God's will; 3) parent's worst pain was emotional pain due to child's diagnosis; 4) belief that their presence could ameliorate their child's pain; 5) desire for shared decision making; and 6) the child's responsibility to express pain. These study results were used to inform the action research approach in the overall project. (C) 2006 U.S. Cancer Pain Relief Committee. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.