Help close the gap for kids in pain.
Children are disproportionately impacted by pain. When their pain is undertreated or ignored, children experience gaps in care, safety, equity, and even human rights. But it doesn’t have to hurt. We have the evidence, tools and techniques to prevent and treat children’s pain. It’s time to close the gap and ensure that every child receives equitable, evidence-informed pain management every time, no matter where they receive care.
Be part of the movement to close the gap for kids in pain!
Together, we can make children’s pain a priority and give kids the care they deserve. Consider taking action with these resources.
I want to amplify the need for change.
Share why children’s pain matters, and how hospitals can help lead the change.
- Download this one-pager on making children’s pain a hospital priority.
Raise awareness across your community.
- Use this awareness toolkit to share on social media, in newsletters, and more.
I want to put real solutions into practice.
Adopt Canada’s national Pediatric Pain Management health standard at your hospital.
- Download the Pediatric Pain Management Standard (CAN/HSO 13200:2023)
- Read the standard’s Executive Summary
- Contact SKIP to tap into our national network for support
I want to learn more about how to manage children’s pain
Access evidence-informed resources to help you manage children’s pain.
- Visit the SKIP’s Resource Commons and search by pain type, age, resource type and more!
Why does children's pain management matter?
Health Canada’s Canadian Pain Taskforce report recognizes children as a population that is disproportionately impacted by pain, highlighted in the Canadian Pain Task Force 2021 Action Plan for Pain in Canada. Children often suffer from inadequately managed pain, leading to significant and potentially life-long negative consequences for their physical, mental, and social well-being.
Children’s pain is a bigger problem than you may think.
- On average, children in Canadian hospitals experience 6 painful procedures per day; 14 in neonatal intensive care
- 2 of 3 procedures in hospital are performed without pain management
- 1 in 5 children have chronic pain (pain lasting months to years)
- 1 in 4 children develop chronic pain after major surgery
- Pain is the most frequent reason for emergency department visits
- Pain is prevalent across pediatric sub-specialties (e.g. emergency medicine, oncology, neonatology, rheumatology, etc.)
- Pain disproportionately impacts children from marginalized communities (e.g. Indigenous peoples, racialized peoples, immigrants, refugees, people with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ people, etc.)
Children’s pain causes significant short and long-term consequences.
- Delayed healing
- Stress-related complications
- Pain sensitization
- Neurodevelopment issues
- Trauma
- Vaccination hesitancy and needle fear
- Healthcare avoidance
- Development of chronic pain
- Increased risk of depression, anxiety and suicidality
- Increased risk of harmful substance use
- Increased risk of socioeconomic disparities
When we ignore children’s pain, we create serious gaps for Canada’s kids.
A patient safety incident is any event that could lead to, or has already caused, unnecessary harm to a patient. Untreated, delayed or unmanaged pain meets that criteria by presenting an incident that can cause trauma and short- and long-term harm. If patient safety is paramount in hospitals, then pain must be included.
Every child experiences pain differently. It is subjective and influenced by biopsychosocial factors. Quality pain management requires close partnership between children, caregivers, and health professionals using a multimodal approach that integrates pharmacological, psychosocial and physical strategies.
Most children seen in specialized pain clinics are white, urban, and from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. Yet children from equity-deserving and marginalized communities are more likely to experience pain, less likely to have it acknowledged or effectively treated, and face systemic discrimination in care.
Access to timely and effective pediatric pain care is a fundamental human right. Poorly managed pain contributes to medical trauma and has been described as the most distressing aspect of healthcare. Canada is the #1 country per capita in pediatric pain research outputs, yet we withhold evidence-informed care by failing to adequately translate it into practice.
“We have the evidence, the tools and the techniques to reduce children’s pain and improve their care experiences. When we choose not to use them, we aren’t just failing to treat pain, we are causing pain.”
Dr. Kathryn Birnie
Associate Scientific Director, Solutions for Kids in Pain, in her recent op-ed, “When Healing Hurts: Why Children’s Pain Must Be Treated as a Patient Safety Incident”
By easing pain early, we change lives forever. Be part of the movement to improve children's pain management with Solutions for Kids in Pain!
Contact the SKIP team if you have questions or need help with resources and support.