Abstract: Objective: To investigate the current status of children's pain management practice in domestic hospitals, and to provide basic data for the development of sensitive indicators of pain management quality in children. Methods: Directors of nursing department and head nurses in 66 hospitals were recruited with self-designed children's pain management status questionnaires. Results: A total of 33 general hospitals, 21 specialized hospitals and 12 maternal and child health hospitals were investigated, including 492 departments of PICU, NICU, Pediatrics, Pediatric Surgery, Outpatient, and General Hospital Pediatrics. Among them, 42 hospitals (63.64%) carried out child pain management. However, only 8 hospitals (12.12%) achieved full coverage of the child's pain assessment, including all outpatients and hospitalized children. 39 hospitals (59.09%) developed a pain management system. 300 departments (60.98%) did not undergo routine pain assessment. There are also varying degrees of differences in the assessment tools and analgesia methods. Conclusion: Children pain management have not yet fully covered in domestic hospitals. Children's pain management needs to be further regulated. It is necessary to establish a standardized child pain management program or guide to improve the quality of pain management in children.

Key words: children; pain management; cross-sectional survey