The research project by Dowden, McCarthy and Chalkiadis entitled “Achieving organizational change in pediatric pain management” was published in the July number of the journal Pain Research and Management in 2008. The question which the researchers were attempting to answer in PICO format can be formulated as follows: In hospitalized children how does overcoming the barriers to pain management compared to traditional attitude affect levels of pain.
The peculiarities of the research question and the corresponding domain had impact upon the choice of the research methods, directions and the evaluation of the research findings. Thus, the main characteristics of pediatrics hospital setting and the variety of available procedures, the barriers to relieving the pain of hospitalized children and the misconceptions in medical staff can make the practitioners underestimate the significance of pain in the hospitalized children.
The choice of the method of semi-structured individual and group interviews was predetermined with the research question and the difficulties of estimating the main barriers to improving the implemented techniques. The research findings have supported the hypothesis that pain management in children requires application of specific techniques. After defining the main barriers to pain management in pediatric hospital settings, the researchers concluded that the institutional changes are needed for enhancing the effectiveness of pain management in children. Thus, the organizational changes were the solution offered for overcoming the barriers and paying proper attention to pain management at pediatrics hospital settings. The training programs for the medical staff are an integral part of the implementation plan.
The research project under consideration provides evidence for demonstrating the importance of improving the pain management strategies in pediatrics settings and offers the organizational changes as the solution for the research problem.
Reference List
Dowden, S., McCarthy, M. and Chalkiadis, G. (2008). Achieving organizational change in pediatric pain management. Pain Research and Management, 13(4): 321- 326.
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