Western journal of nursing research
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The purpose of this research was to describe the kinds of pain assessments nursing home staff use with nursing home residents and the characteristics and behaviors of residents that staff consider as they assess pain. Twenty-one focus groups were held in 12 nursing homes. Nurses and other nursing home staff attended the focus groups. ⋯ Composition of focus groups made a difference in participation of certified nursing assistants in focus group discussion. Urban and rural differences were noted across the focus groups. Research is needed to further refine pain assessment techniques specifically for nursing home settings.
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Because of its subjective nature, the assessment of pain requires the use of comprehensive practices that accurately reflect a patient's experiences of pain. The purpose of this study was to determine how nurses make decisions in their assessment of patients' pain in the postoperative clinical setting. An observational design was chosen as the means of examining pain activities in two surgical units of a metropolitan teaching hospital in Melbourne, Australia. ⋯ In total, 316 pain activities were determined. Five themes relating to assessment were identified from the data analysis: simple questioning, use of a pain scale, complex assessment, the lack of pain assessment, and physical examination for pain. The study identified how nurses' prioritization of work demands created barriers in conducting timely and comprehensive pain assessment decisions.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Is the medical record an accurate reflection of patients' symptoms during acute myocardial infarction?
Documentation of symptoms in the medical record provides clinicians and researchers with valuable information about the patient's experience during acute myocardial infarction (AMI). To examine the consistency between the patient's reported symptoms and the medical record, 215 patients were interviewed and their medical records examined for information about their admission symptoms. Chest pain was the most frequently reported and recorded symptom, and there was good agreement between the patient's report and the medical record. ⋯ Time of symptom onset was identified by 87.9% of patients but only documented in 60.5% of medical records. Clinicians may be recording those symptoms that support the AMI diagnosis and not those perceived to be less relevant. Findings suggest that the medical record is an inaccurate and inadequate source of information about patients' actual experience of AMI symptoms.
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The purpose of this article was to discuss the challenges of instrument translation, using the translation of the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey into Chinese as an example. Brislin's model of translation, which highlights the need for forward and backward translation, was used. ⋯ Examples were used to illustrate how difficulties, such as maintenance of the original intent of the questionnaire, maximization of the cultural relevancy of the concept in question, and enhancement of the comprehensibility of the translated questionnaire, were handled. The importance of literal and cultural adaptation of a developed instrument, rather than its simple word translation in the maintenance of an equivalent translation is highlighted.