Pain in children

The background - what's the resource about? 

Welcome to this RCN resource about the recognition and assessment of acute pain in children. 
 
Originally published in 2000, and now completely revised and updated as of 2009, the RCN guideline on the recognition and assessment of acute pain in children looks at when and how pain should be assessed and by whom. As well as the report itself, this resource provides high quality, tailored material to inspire and support implementation of the findings and recommendations in the guideline.

What's here?

What is the purpose of the guideline? Read the background story about the guideline and why it is so important.
 
What's most important? Start with our animated introduction to the key findings from the children's pain guideline
 
Looking for the full guideline document? Visit the guideline downloads section, where you can find lots of useful supporting material.
 
How can I learn more? RCN members can access more training in the learning section
 
Get involved. Do you want to share an opinion or help us with developing this valuable resource?  Find out how to get involved with this valuable project
 
What's happening next? Find out more about what's next in the development of these webpages to help support assessing children's pain
 
Exploring further. A series of additional resources with useful links and information about promotion and endorsement of the guideline.
 
This is a living resource and it will continue to be developed and expanded (see the what's next section). Contributions from health care professionals, patients, parents and carers are essential to the success of this, so please take the opportunity to find out about how to get involved with its development.