What helps when it hurts: children's views on pain relief

Background Previous studies have focused on children's views of sources of pain and only secondarily explored their views on pain-relief strategies. Methods An exploratory cross-sectional descriptive design and 'draw and write' technique were used to investigate what children think helps them when they have pain. Results The sample (n = 71) was comprised of 33% boys and 67% girls, with an age range of 4-16 years (mean +/- SD: 9.25 +/- 3.04). Four overarching themes were derived that were common to both the texts and drawings: 'People who help', 'What I do that helps', 'What other people do that helps' and 'Things that help'. Children also described their emotional reactions to pain or pain relief. Multiple themes were represented in most of the texts and drawings. There were few differences in the themes present in the children's texts and drawings based on developmental age and no differences based on gender. Conclusions Children across the three developmental age groups view themselves as active agents in pain relief. Although less than half of the children described specific behaviours they had taken, almost all children indicated their active role as the central figure in relation to use of objects or the actions of others.