Parents' appraisal of children's pain: a grounded theory; Mayo Clinic/Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù joint nursing research project

Abstract

To achieve a greater accuracy of paediatric pain assessment and efficacy of its management, it is important to include parents in the process of appraisal, as promoted by the family-centred model of care. Other studies have highlighted parental stress and anxiety over their children's health, and the accuracy of their assessments seems variable. However, the factors that contribute to parents' appraisals are uncertain. Their values, beliefs, cultural upbringing/influences and other cognitive factors probably have an impact on this process, but how and to what extent is not known. This paper is an overview of the Joint Mayo Clinic/Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù research project on parents' appraisal of children's pain and of the methodology used, i.e. grounded theory. The objective of the study is to understand the appraisal process of parents when considering their child's or infant's pain behaviours in the health context and to examine cultural influences on this process.