Expression of Pain by Children and Its Assessment in Kuwait

Objective: To study the ability of children to describe, localize, and assess the intensity of their current pain and to compare their evaluation with those of their parents. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 281 native Arabic-speaking children, 6–12 years old, presenting with acute pain to the emergency room accompanied by at least one adult. Data were collected in Al-Amiri, Mubarak Al-Kabeer, Al-Adan, Al-Farwaniya and Al-Jahra hospitals by interviewing children and by giving a self-administered questionnaire to the accompanying adult. Intensity of pain was measured using the Faces Pain Scale. Children described their pain using 23 verbal expressions. Results: The most frequently used words to describepain were ‘it hurts’ and ‘it hurts a lot’ followed by a ‘burning sensation’.The most common sites of pain were the abdomen, pelvis, and loin. Intensity of pain was associated with birth order and higher number of siblings, lower number of previous pain episodes, lower family income, and lower educational level of the mother. No relationship was found between self-reported pain intensity and nationality, area of residence, gender, orfather’s educational level. There was no agreement in pain intensity assessment between parents and children. Conclusion: The study shows that children were able to verbalize their current pain, its intensity and site. The Faces Pain Scale was easy to administer and useful in measuring the intensity of pain.