A Child in Pain: What Health Professionals Can Do to Help

by Leora Kuttner

Overview

This comprehensive book is designed to help pediatric health professionals of all disciplines gain understanding and skill in how to approach and treat children's pain, and how to help children make sense of and deal with their own pain. Pain is the most common reason for children to seek a medical consultation - and sometimes a common reason for avoiding it. Unaddressed fears and anxiety complicate pain management and recovery. A central theme in this book is the examination of children's fears and anxieties that accompany their need for pain relief, and the communication skills and words that can help calm these fears. This book is addressed to all disciplines, in its valuing of the professional-patient relationship and in the language used to allay anxiety, address fears and promote relief and well-being. It is organized into three parts:Part I explores our scientific understanding of pain as a part of children's development. Part II explores pain treatments themselves, their efficacies and how to combine them for therapeutic impact. Part III uses this understanding to help translate knowledge into clinical practice in three domains of pediatric medicine: the physicians' practice, the dental practice, and in the hospital. This volume also includes contributions by Dr. Jonathan Kuttner, on the neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of pain, Dr. Carl von Baeyer on pain assessment, and Drs Stefan Freidrichsdorf and Helen Karl on the pharmacological management of pain.Without doubt, this volume will stand as the "bible" on pediatric pain management for years to come.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781845904555
Publisher:	Crown House Publishing
Publication date:	05/05/2010
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Leora Kuttner, PhD is a pediatric clinical psychologist who specializes in children's pain management. She is a Clinical Professor in the Pediatric Department of the University of British Columbia and BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada. Dr. Kuttner has authored A Child in Pain: How to Help, What to Do, a book for parents, and has also co-produced and directed award winning film documentaries on pediatric pain management, No Fears, No Tears, No Fears, No Tears - 13 Years Later, and When Every Moment Counts.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables iii

Acknowledgements vii

Preface ix

Foreword xiii

Part I How to Understand, Assess and Communicate with a Child in Pain 1

Chapter 1 Pain in Children's Lives 7

Chapter 2 How Pain Works Jonathan Kuttner 39

Chapter 3 Communicating with a Child in Pain 71

Chapter 4 Assessing and Measuring Pain Carl L. von Baeyer 113

Part II Pain Treatments-Psychological, Physical and Pharmacological 41

Chapter 5 Psychological Methods to Relieve Pain 147

Chapter 6 Physical Methods to Relieve Pain 183

Chapter 7 Pharmacological Methods to Relieve Pain Stefan Friedrichsdorf Leora Kuttner Helen Karl 221

Part III Pain and Anxiety Management in Pediatric Practice 265

Chapter 8 Managing Pain and Anxiety at the Doctor's Office 273

Chapter 9 Managing Pain and Anxiety in Dental Practice 301

Chapter 10 Managing Pain and Anxiety in the Hospital 325

Afterword Knowing is Not Enough: Strategies of Improve Pain Management in Healthcare Institutions 353

References 363

Index 383

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Tariq M. Malik, MD (University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine)
Description: This book is an important attempt to inform and educate physicians who manage children in pain. It explains how to communicate with children in pain and better understand their nonverbal clues, and expands physicians' horizons by presenting simple, nonpharmacological, analgesic options.
Purpose: The author focuses on the emotional and nonpharmacological aspects of pain management in children, a worthy objective as these factors are often unappreciated by physicians.
Audience: All physicians who care for children are the intended audience. The book is for novices as well as experienced physicians. It is a must read for pain specialists, especially those working in a pediatric hospital.
Features: The book is broadly divided into three sections. The four chapters in the first section review pain physiology and anatomy, the art of communicating with a child in pain, and different tools used to assess and measure pain. There are innumerable clinical pearls, like the value of word selection, how to respond to a child's reaction, and how to build confidence. The second section covers the three main modalities used to treat pain: psychological, physical, and pharmacological. This section is very clinically oriented, and is replete with real cases and descriptions of how the intervention was able to help the patient. The last section focuses on how to make different healthcare facilities (dentist's office, doctor's office, and hospital) anxiety-free for children. The ideas are simple and easy to implement, and are based on seeing situations from a child's standpoint and taking the time to address the child's concerns. The book is well written with short chapters that present the information clearly and directly.
Assessment: This is an excellent book on the emotional aspects of pain management in children. It does not delve too deeply into emotional or psychological detail, but makes its case simply and beautifully. This is an excellent attempt to educate physicians who think that pain can simply be treated with more medication. I know of no other book addressing this issue in children. It's a must read for pediatricians and pain specialists.

Doody's Review Service