Deakin University
Browse

File(s) under permanent embargo

Nurses' strategies for managing pain in the postoperative setting

journal contribution
posted on 2005-03-01, 00:00 authored by Elizabeth ManiasElizabeth Manias, Tracey BucknallTracey Bucknall, Mari BottiMari Botti
Acute pain is a significant problem in the postoperative setting. Patients report a lack of information about pain-control measures and ineffective pain control. Nurses continue to rely on pharmacologic measures and tend to under-administer analgesics. The purpose of this study was to determine the strategies nurses used to manage patients’ pain in the postoperative setting. It also sought to examine the effect of context, including organization of care, nurses’ prioritization of work activities, and pressures during a working shift, on their pain-management strategies. An observational design was used in two surgical units of a metropolitan teaching hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Six fixed observation times were identified as key periods for pain activities, each comprising a 2-hour duration. An observation period was examined at least 12 times, resulting in the completion of 74 observations and the identification of 316 pain cases. Fifty-two nurses were observed during their normal day’s work with postoperative patients. Six themes were identified: managing pain effectively; prioritizing pain experiences for pain management; missing pain cues for pain management; regulators and enforcers of pain management; preventing pain; and reactive management of pain. The findings highlighted the critical nature of communication between clinicians and patients and among clinicians. It also demonstrated the influence of time on management strategies and the relative importance that nurses place on nonpharmacologic measures in actual practice. This research, which portrays what happens in actual clinical practice, has facilitated the identification of new data that were not evident from other research studies.


History

Journal

Pain management nursing

Volume

6

Issue

1

Pagination

18 - 29

Publisher

WB Saunders

Location

London, England

ISSN

1524-9042

Language

eng

Notes

Available online 25 May 2005.

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2005, by the American Society for Pain Management Nursing

Usage metrics

    Research Publications

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Keywords

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC