Assessment of Paediatric Pain Management Practices in Selected Hospitals in Delta State, South South Nigeria

Adequate pain assessment and management in children remain a significant challenge in many Nigerian healthcare settings, where analgesic use is often inconsistent and pain tools are rarely employed. This cross-sectional descriptive study assesses the pain management practices of healthcare workers caring for paediatric patients in selected secondary and tertiary hospitals in Delta State, South South Nigeria. A total of 145 nurses and paediatric physicians from four hospitals in Asaba and Warri participated in the study. A structured self-administered questionnaire assessed familiarity with paediatric pain assessment tools, frequency of pain assessment, analgesic prescribing practices, and barriers to pain management. Results indicated that only 31.7% of respondents routinely used validated pain assessment scales such as the FLACC or Wong-Baker FACES scale. Paracetamol was the most commonly prescribed analgesic (91.7%), while opioid analgesics were used by only 14.5% of respondents, primarily in surgical contexts. Barriers to adequate pain management included lack of training on pain assessment tools, fear of opioid side effects, and limited drug availability. Children under two years were least likely to receive systematic pain assessment. The study recommends mandatory training in paediatric pain assessment for all child health workers, standardisation of pain protocols, and inclusion of pain management competency in undergraduate and postgraduate curricula. Keywords: paediatric pain management, pain assessment, Delta State, analgesics, South South Nigeria.