Ghanaian nurses' knowledge of invasive procedural pain and its effect on children, parents and nurses.

AIM: To explore Ghanaian nurses' knowledge of invasive procedural pain in children who are in hospital and to identify the effect of unrelieved pain on children, parents and nurses. METHOD: An exploratory, descriptive and qualitative design was adopted. A purposive sampling technique was used and individual face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 registered nurses from four children's units at a hospital in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Thematic and content analyses were performed. FINDINGS: Four themes emerged: types of invasive procedure; pain expression; pain assessment; and effects of unrelieved pain. Participants had adequate knowledge of painful invasive procedures, however, they were not aware of the range of available validated pain assessment tools, using observations and body language instead to assess pain. CONCLUSION: Ghanaian nurses require education on the use of validated rating scales to assess procedural pain in children. The inclusion of pain assessment and management in pre-registration curricula could improve knowledge.

Peritoneal Dialysis to Treat Patients with Acute Kidney Injury-The Saving Young Lives Experience in West Africa: Proceedings of the Saving Young Lives Session at the First International Conference of Dialysis in West Africa, Dakar, Senegal, December 2015.

In December 2015, as part of the First African Dialysis Conference organized in Dakar, Senegal, 5 physicians from West African countries who have participated in the Saving Young Lives Program reviewed their experiences establishing peritoneal dialysis (PD) programs to treat patients with acute kidney injury (AKI). Thus far, nearly 200 patients have received PD treatment in these countries. The interaction and discussion amongst the participants at the meeting was meaningful and informative. The presentations highlighted the creativity, conviction, and determination of the physicians in overcoming the various barriers and challenges they encountered to establish PD/AKI programs. Hopefully, these successes and the increased awareness of the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of AKI will inspire much needed support from government, hospital, and international organizations.