Journal of nursing care quality
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Pain affects more than one third of cancer patients in the early stages of their disease, dramatically rising above 70% in the advanced stages. Numerous studies have been conducted in the pursuit of cancer pain relief, yet the prevalence of pain persists. ⋯ Performance improvement activities are described through the process of assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of the pain management program. This pain management program is uniquely derived from a unit core value that all staff is responsible and accountable for pain management.
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A quality improvement project was undertaken by Neuro-ICU nurses to determine possible effects from open visitation. From a quality improvement perspective, nurses' concerns were investigated along with their perceptions about open visitation to determine a need for visitation policy revision. Vast variability in nurses' interpretation and implementation of individualized open visitation policy suggested a need for the following: staff education about the policy and its implementation, a review of the literature to determine the validity of concerns about deleterious physiologic effects on neuroscience patients from visitation, and improved communication among nurses about visitation.
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It is difficult to assess the effectiveness of the delivery of pain management care because pain management is a complex process. This article describes a quality assurance study that was conducted on a surgical unit at a community teaching hospital, which is a member of a 1200 licensed inpatient beds multihospital system, to determine the effectiveness of pain management at the unit level. ⋯ The Chart Audit Analysis Tool quantifies by weighted indicators 2 outcomes measures, nurses' care delivery and pharmacologic management. The Chart Audit Analysis Tool, along with the results of a test of the nurses' knowledge and attitudes about pain management, provides nurse managers a quick and easy method to identify strengths and weaknesses of pain management at the unit level.