Effect of preoperative education given by nurses on post-operative pain in children [Çocuklarda ameliyat öncesi hemşire tarafindan verilen destekleyici egitimin ameliyat sonrasi agri düzeyine etkisi]

Aim: The objective of the current work was to determine the effect of preoperative supportive education given by nurses on the postoperative pain level in a group of children between 2-12 years old. Material and Method: The study was conducted on the Pediatric Surgery Ward at Dr. Behçet Uz Children's Diseases and Surgery Education and Research Hospital with 78 children who were scheduled to have a surgical procedure, either an appendectomy (40 children, 51%) or an inguinal hernia repair (38 children, 49%). After receiving the written permission of the families, one hour before surgery each child was explained the reason for their surgical procedure, where the surgery was to take place, the reason why they had to go into surgery alone, what they would experience during surgery, where they would be taken after surgery, and when they could see their family again. A variety of teaching materials were used including pictures, toys and role play was conducted with face masks and surgical cap and gown. This supportive educational session also included the routine surgical preparation at the hospital. The children who went through the routine preparation were taken as the control group for the study. The children were taken into the groups to match gender, age, diagnosis, weight and height criteria. The postoperative pain level was measured with FLACC (Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability) infant pain scale. Results: The children who went through the supportive training scored significantly lower on the FLACC scale than those who did not. Conclusion: A surgical operation inevitably results in postoperative pain. This pain is reduced in children through preoperative teaching and explanations given by nurses with material suitable to the age group. Such training sessions should be routinely introduced in pediatric surgery