Chinese parents' perception of support received and recommendations regarding children's postoperative pain management

The aims of this study are to describe Chinese parents' perceptions of informational and emotional support received from nurses and their recommendations for improvement in the management of their child's postoperative pain. Data were collected using a questionnaire survey completed by 206 parents of 6- to 12-year-old child hospitalized in 12 wards in five provincial hospitals in Fujian Province, China, in 2004. Findings indicated that parents experienced negative feelings such as worry (91%) and anxiety (59%). Most of them reported they had received sufficient information on outcomes of surgical procedure (85%) and postoperative recovery process (84%), but fewer reported they had received sufficient information on pain medication (51%) and non-pharmacological pain-relieving methods (59%). Parents made some recommendations, which centred mainly on nurses' use of non-pharmacological methods. Findings suggest that parents need more information related to pain management and their understanding of the information should be ensured.