Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses
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The McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) pain quality descriptors have been analyzed to characterize the sensory, affective, and evaluative domains of pain, but have not been differentiated by pain location. ⋯ This type of pain characterization is innovative and has the potential to help implement targeted treatments for patients with cancer and other chronic pain conditions.
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Pain is a subjective experience, unfortunately, some patients cannot provide a self-report of pain verbally, in writing, or by other means. In patients who are unable to self-report pain, other strategies must be used to infer pain and evaluate interventions. In support of the ASPMN position statement "Pain Assessment in the Patient Unable to Self-Report", this paper provides clinical practice recommendations for five populations in which difficulty communicating pain often exists: neonates, toddlers and young children, persons with intellectual disabilities, critically ill/unconscious patients, older adults with advanced dementia, and patients at the end of life. Nurses are integral to ensuring assessment and treatment of these vulnerable populations.
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Public hospitals in Catalonia (Spain) recommend using the Spanish version of the Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia (PAINAD-Sp) scale for assessing pain in adult patients unable to self-report. However, since its inclusion in Catalonian nursing care plans in 2010, there have been no training programs for nurses, contributing to its current underuse. ⋯ Theoretical and practical training may be an effective way to improve nurses' approach to identifying, assessing, and managing pain in patients unable to self-report.
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Enhancing pain patient's ability to function and cope is important, but assessing only intensity ignores those aspects of pain. The Functional Pain Scale (FPS), addresses these dimensions but lacked validation in hospitalized adults with chronic pain. ⋯ Although statistically significant, the reliability and validity of FPS were not as strong in hospitalized chronic pain patients as reported for older adults in other settings.
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A variety of valid tools are available to assess staff knowledge and attitudes regarding pain, among which is the Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain. Although this instrument has been widely and successfully used, a valid and adapted Spanish version is yet to be developed. The purpose of this study was to validate the Spanish version of the Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain. ⋯ Palliative care nurses had the highest score, 70.8%, which differed significantly from the rest of the groups. The Spanish version of the Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain can effectively differentiate nursing staff in terms of their pain expertise. The results indicate that Spanish nurses have a gap in pharmacologic knowledge that is comparable to that found in other countries, but their foundation in general pain concepts was solid.