Parents' management of children's pain at home after surgery

Purpose. We tested home pain management for children for effects on pain intensity, analgesics administered, satisfaction, and use of healthcare services over 3 post‐discharge days. Design and Methods. In this quasi‐experimental study with 108 children and their parents, we used the numeric rating scale or the Faces Pain Scale‐Revised, calculated percentages of analgesics administered, and asked questions about expectations, satisfaction, and services. Between‐group differences were tested with t‐tests and analysis of variance. Results: After home pain management for children, children reported moderate pain, and parents administered more analgesics on study days. Parents and children were satisfied; parents used few services. Written instructions and a brief interactive session were not sufficient to change parents' analgesic administration practices to relieve their children's pain. Practice Implications. Further research is needed to develop and test effective education interventions to facilitate relief of children's postoperative pain.