Children's Pain Assessment in Northeastern Thailand: Perspectives of Health Professionals

Deficiencies in pain care within the developing world are starting to be realized. Children, in particular, are vulnerable, as preliminary studies suggest that these children receive less pain treatment because of health professionals' attitudes and beliefs. This article reports on some of the findings of the first study in a larger program of research aimed at improving pediatric pain care in Thailand. Improvements in practice are not simply the result of providing evidenced-based knowledge, but a complex process that includes the context of care. Given that little is known about the pain management experiences of Thai health professionals, including the challenges they face, we used focus groups to capture their stories. Data revealed a need for both updating pain knowledge and for supporting an increased use of appropriate practices. In this article, we focus on the issues concerning the assessment of pain resulting from underrecognizing children's pain and complex issues in communicating findings of children's pain.