A Qualitative Inquiry of Taiwanese Children's Pain Experiences

Abstract

Little information was found in studying Taiwanese children's pain experiences. Because pain is culturally shaped, health care providers should not assume Taiwanese children's pain to be identical to those of children in the US. Thus, a qualitative descriptive study with semi-structured interview of 90 hospitalized Taiwanese children with acute pain was conducted to understand Taiwanese children's pain experiences. Krippendorff's (1980) content analysis was used to guide the data analysis. Seven themes from the interview data were presented, including definition of pain, quality of pain, previous pain experiences, pain expectation, pain acceptance, causes of pain and meaning of pain. Surprisingly, the results of this study revealed few differences in the experiences and meanings of pain. Most results are consistent with the studies done in the US. Differences are minor, including the interpretation of children's crying and how Taiwanese parents talk with their children about pain, and are probably related to the sample sizes and methodology of the studies. Further research is necessary about the influence of culture upon children's pain experiences.