The Use of Standardized Language to Describe Abdominal Pain

The assessment, diagnosis, and management of abdominal pain (AP) in children is a complex and challenging process. The factors that contribute to this complexity are the varied etiologies of AP in children that may be biological and/or psychological, nurses’ perceptions of AP, manifestations of AP in children, and the lack of a standardized language to describe AP. In this descriptive study, 64 school nurses completed an investigator-developed survey to determine the usefulness of standardized language in describing AP. This study identified the most frequently used assessments to document complaints of AP; activities from the Nursing Interventions Classification “pain management” intervention used to treat AP; and relevant indicators used by school nurses from the Nursing Outcomes Classification “pain level” and “symptom severity” outcomes. Use of standardized language to document nursing care will make nursing’s contribution to the care of children with AP more visible and provide data that will identify and monitor trends of AP in the school setting.