Australasian Emergency Nursing Journal (2012) 15, 133—147 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com j our na l ho me p age: www.elsevier.com/locate/aenj RESEARCH PAPER Improving pain management of abdominal pain in children presenting to the paediatric emergency department: A pre—post interventional study Suzanne Williams, MNSc (NP), BN (Hons), Grad Cert Paed Crit Care, Grad Cert Paed, Chld & Yth Hlth Nrsing, RN, NP, B. Health Sc (Nursing) a,* Kerri Holzhauser, RN, BHealth Sc (Nrsg) b,c Donna Bonney, RN, BN, MN, Grad Cert Emerg d Elizabeth Burmeister, MSc (Biostatistics), BN, DipNurs b Yuri Gilhotra, MBBS, FACEM a Randall Oliver, RN, BN a Kerry Gordon, RN, NP, MNSc (NP), BN (Hons) a a Mater Children’s Hospital Emergency Department, Brisbane, Australia b Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Australia c Griffith University Research Centre for Clinical and Community Practice Innovation, Brisbane, Australia d Mater Health Services, Brisbane, Australia Received 6 September 2011; received in revised form 18 April 2012; accepted 18 April 2012 KEYWORDS Abdominal pain; Child; Paediatric; Pain management; Analgesia; Pain assessment; Emergency department Summary Background: In 2007, the Mater Children’s Hospital Emergency Department participated in the Emergency Care Pain Management Initiative funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council National Institute of Clinical Studies (NHMRC — NICS). The findings of this NHMRC — NICS research across eleven paediatric emergency departments highlighted deficits in pain man- agement of abdominal pain. Specifically pain assessment, timeliness of analgesia, and pain management guidelines were found to be lacking. Methods: In response to the NICS report local practice was reviewed and a pilot research project undertaken to develop a clinical guideline for the pain management of abdominal pain in chil- dren presenting to the emergency department. The guideline was developed by an expert panel and trialled using a pre and post intervention design. ∗ Corresponding author at: Mater Children’s Hospital Emergency Department, Raymond Terrace, South Brisbane 4001, Brisbane, Australia. Tel.: +61 07 3163 6337; fax: +61 07 3163 8744. E-mail address: Suzanne.williams@mater.org.au (S. Williams). 1574-6267/$ — see front matter © 2012 College of Emergency Nursing Australasia Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aenj.2012.04.003