ROLE OF TEMPERAMENT IN PEDIATRIC PAIN RESPONSE (BLOOD SAMPLING).
Contributors: University Of Illinois At Chicago, Health Sciences Center.
Published: 1993
Number of pages: 228
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Despite recent advances in understanding pain and its management, problems remain in pain management in children. Children's pain perception and response vary due to interactions of developmental and social-environmental factors. One factor rarely considered is the children's individual differences in temperament. This study explored the relationship between children's temperament and their pain perception and responses.

The sample included 137 three to seven-year-old children scheduled for preoperative venous blood test and their parents (or guardian). The blood sampling procedure was videotaped. Children's pain responses were measured by pulse oximetry, self-report, and observed behaviors. Parents reported their child's previous pain experiences and responses, usual pain behaviors, and their own behaviors when their child experienced pain. Parents also reported their child's temperament characteristics.

The results indicated that the temperament dimension of 'threshold' was mildly, but significantly correlated to self-report and distress behaviors in the preparation phase of the blood sampling procedure. The temperament dimensions of "activity", "adaptability", "approach", "intensity", "mood", and "threshold" were more significantly correlated to previous pain response and usual pain behaviors. These variables were strong predictors for current pain responses. Higher level of self-report pain was correlated to lower oxygen saturation, increased pulse rate and increased behavioral distress. The findings imply that nurses may facilitate the goodness-of-fit between children's temperament and the health care environment to manage children's pain more effectively.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-01, Section: B, page: 0078.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO, HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER, 1993.

School code: 0806.