Impact of research on pediatric pain assessment and outcomes.

Purpose: Pediatric nurses from varied practice and educational backgrounds learned about research by doing a ward-based study. The aim of the study was to determine if regular assessment of children's pain would improve their pain management and postoperative progress.

Method: Children, ages 5 to 17 years (n = 36), measured their pain every 4 hours postoperatively using the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale.