TABLE 2.

Key findings from the review

Improvements identified
Establishment of the acute pain management service
Raised awareness of the importance of adequate pain relief in children
Improvement in perioperative and postoperative analgesia
Education implemented in pain assessment and management
Clinical research in pediatric pain management
Deficiencies identified
Deficits in education and training
Inadequate resource allocation for the Pain Management Service
Lack of a multidisciplinary pain management program for children and adolescents with persistent pain
Structural and resource limitations for procedural pain management
Lack of resources to develop and promote community education initiatives
Barriers to good pain management
An unchanging hospital culture
Negative attitudes about pain: ‘Just do it’, ‘Don’t ask for help’
Variability in clinical practice
Outmoded beliefs and misconceptions about pain and analgesia
Inadequate education at the undergraduate level
Opiophobia (prejudice against the use of opioid analgesia)