2016 -Endowment Fund Awards – Increasing Resiliency to Nursing in Paediatric Oncology and Palliative care And Achy Penguin:Tool to Improve Pain Assessment in 4-7 Year Olds

Increasing Resiliency to Nursing in Paediatric Oncology and Palliative Care on 8A

After observing what appeared to be the burnout and exhaustion from staff on 8A, the team, made up of Tenecia Hiller, Amanda Li, Cristina Emanuale, Briar O’Neil, Bryanne Cassidy, Ann Chang, and led by Carolyn Wilson, suggested undertaking a Quality Improvement project to offer support for their peers and increase resiliency and work life. The project will use structured methods to shape a program aimed at improving nurse resiliency, including access to professional support to build resiliency and learn healthy coping mechanisms. 

Achy Penguin: Usability Testing of a Smartphone-based Tool to Improve Nursing Pain Assessment and Management in Children Aged 4-7 Years,

Pain is common in hospitalized children yet it is frequently under assessed and under treated. Valid and reliable pain assessment is the first step in effective management. However, assessing pain in young children four to seven years old is a particular clinical challenge. There are validated tools to assess pain intensity in this group, but these tools do not capture information on pain location or provide patients with pain self management strategies. The project team team made up of Carley Ouellette, Jennifer Stinson, Chitra Lalloo, Fiona Campbell and Ted Gerstle, is focused on ‘Achy Penguin’, a smartphone-based tool designed to improve pain assessment and management among children four to seven years old. This innovative tool uses animal-based body maps to help children self-report pain location (by placing dots on a simple body map) and pain intensity (by choosing from a series of four faces illustrating different pain amounts). The app provides interactive self-management strategies, including deep breathing, relaxation, and distraction. The Endowment Fund will support usability testing of this innovative app with patients.