Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses
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Pain is common in residential aged care facilities (RACFs). In 2005, the Australian Pain Society developed 27 recommendations for good practice in the identification, assessment, and management of pain in these settings. This study aimed to address implementation of the standards and evaluate outcomes. ⋯ After implementation, the staff also reported better understanding of the standards (p < .001) or of facility pain management guidelines (p < .001), increased confidence in therapies for pain management (p < .001), and increased confidence in their training to assess pain (p < .001) and recognize pain in residents with dementia who are nonverbal (p = .003). The results show that improved evidence-based practice in RACFs can be achieved with appropriate training and education. Investing resources in the aged care workforce via this implementation program has shown improvements in staff self-efficacy and practice.
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Comparative Study
Effects of white noise and holding on pain perception in newborns.
This experimental study on newborns was conducted to compare the effects of various atraumatic care procedures during an infant's crying response to pain. Included in this study were 120 newborns chosen from among healthy infants admitted to the Obstetrics Department of Çanakkale State Hospital between April 2010 and June 2010. The patients were divided into three physically homogeneous groups. ⋯ The highest behavioral reaction was reported by those infants who were held by their mothers but did not listen to white noise. According to the results, white noise is an effective nonpharmacologic method to control pain, reduce crying time, and positively effect vital signs. Therefore, it is recommended that the use of white noise be practiced on newborns when they undergo painful procedures.
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Elderly people with cognitive impairment are at risk for under-treatment of pain due to their inability to communicate. Poor knowledge and attitudes of nurses toward pain in this population may result in inadequate pain assessment. This study used a descriptive correlational design to develop and validate a tool to assess nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and reported practice of pain assessment in cognitively impaired elderly patients in acute care settings. ⋯ Cronbach's alphas for all factors were acceptable. TENAP was feasible, valid, and reliable for assessing nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and reported practice of pain assessment in cognitively-impaired elderly patients. Further testing of the tool with a larger sample of nurses in other practice contexts is needed.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Acupoint stimulation to improve analgesia quality for lumbar spine surgical patients.
Lumbar spine surgery has a high incidence of postoperative pain, but this pain is treatable through many methods, including patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). Acupoint stimulation could be considered an adjunct to PCA, improving the effectiveness of analgesia for patients recovering from lumbar spine surgery. The current study aimed to examine the effect of acupoint stimulation with PCA on improving analgesia quality after lumbar spine surgery. ⋯ Also found a significant difference among the 3 groups in analgesic consumption and the severity of PONV in the first 72 hours after surgery. The current study shows that the combination of auricular acupressure and TEAS reduced pain intensity, morphine consumption, and PONV severity. Acupoint stimulation could be considered a multimodal analgesia method and an adjunct to PCA for lumbar spine surgery patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effectiveness of jaw relaxation for burn dressing pain: randomized clinical trial.
Patients hospitalized for burn injuries experience severe pain, both immediately after the injury and during daily therapeutic procedures such as dressing changes. Relaxation is increasingly suggested as a pain control technique that can be used by nurses in daily practice. Yet the effects of relaxation on burn pain are not clear. ⋯ No significant difference was seen between mean pain intensity scores in the experimental and control groups after dressing (p = .676). Regarding the ineffectiveness of jaw relaxation for pain intensity of burn dressing, future studies are suggested to concentrate on longer durations of relaxation time and continuing the procedure in dressing room. Simultaneous study of the effect of this technique on residual, breakthrough, and procedural burn pain is also recommended.