Pediatric nurses: the assessment and control of pain in preverbal infants.

Pediatric nurses practicing in a children's hospital participated in this exploratory study investigating nurses' attitudes regarding postoperative pain in infants, including recognition of pain cues and strategies for pain management. Three instruments developed by us were used to obtain data: the Pain Questionnaire, a demographic and attitudinal profile; a self-directed videotape; and the Videotape Questionnaire, an interactive tool to obtain participant responses to videotaped vignettes of infants recovering from surgery. Three independent variables yielded significant results: critical care versus noncritical care nurses, agreement versus disagreement to administer pain medication to infants expected to have pain but not exhibiting pain behaviors, and classes on pediatric versus adult/pediatric pain since licensure. Noncritical care nurses, nurses agreeing to administer pain medication, and nurses attending pediatric pain classes recognized a greater number of cues on videotaped vignettes. Nurses attending pediatric pain classes administered more narcotics. Noncritical care nurses rated the pain experienced by the infants in the vignettes to be more severe compared with ratings made by critical care nurses.