File(s) under permanent embargo
Patients' decision-making strategies for managing postoperative pain
journal contribution
posted on 2006-06-01, 00:00 authored by Elizabeth ManiasElizabeth Manias, Mari BottiMari Botti, Tracey BucknallTracey BucknallDespite technological advances, many postoperative patients continue to suffer unrelieved pain. The aim of this study was to identify the strategies used by postoperative patients to bring about pain management decisions. A single-group noncomparative study design was chosen using observations as the means of examining pain activities in 2 surgical units of a metropolitan teaching hospital in Melbourne, Australia. A total of 52 nurses and 312 patients participated in the study, and 316 pain activities were observed. The most common strategy used was patients acting as a passive recipient for pain relief (60%), whereas problem solving (23%) and active negotiation (17%) were less commonly used. Patients in this study were admitted for surgical treatment of a particular condition, and their subsequent pain was specifically related to this acute event. Therefore, the lack of familiarity of the situation and the severity of pain experienced may have encouraged passivity. Patients may have also felt uncertain about how to approach the pain decision, preferring to defer to nurses. Because increased pain levels can be associated with fear, patients could have been unwilling to speak with nurses to discuss their need for pain relief.
History
Journal
Journal of painVolume
7Issue
6Pagination
428 - 437Publisher
W.B. Saunders CoLocation
Philadelphia, Pa.Publisher DOI
ISSN
1528-8447Language
engNotes
Available online 3 June 2006.Publication classification
C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2006, American Pain SocietyUsage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
Licence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC