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Helping Children in Pain: A Team Approach
1. Introduction
The Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative (BIPAI) was asked by nurses, physicians and social workers caring for HIV-infected children in Bucharest and Constanta, Romania to provide information on the assessment, diagnosis, and management of pain in this population. These health care professionals shared with us their longtime struggle with the issue of pain and their need for a systematic manner of assessing pain, for information on pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, and for information on how to cope with their own feelings of powerlessness when caring for the HIV-infected child in pain. To meet these needs, the BIPAI and the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care sponsored a one day conference titled "Helping Children in Pain: A Team Approach" in Bucharest and Constanta, Romania in May 1999. The faculty for the conference included: Nancy R. Calles, B.S.N., R.N., A.C.R.N, Meg Gwynne Ferris, M.P.H., and Leslie Raneri, M.S.W. The conference was divided into four areas for presentation: assessment and diagnosis of pain, pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions, the team approach, and helping the caregiver cope with children’s pain. Following is a summary of the information presented.
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