Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses
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This was a feasibility pilot study to evaluate the efficacy of the nonpharmacologic pain management technique of gentle human touch (GHT) in reducing pain response to heel stick in premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Eleven premature infants ranging from 27 to 34 weeks' gestational age, in a level III NICU in a teaching hospital, were recruited and randomized to order of treatment in this repeated-measures crossover-design experiment. Containment with GHT during heel stick was compared with traditional nursery care (side lying and "nested" in an incubator). ⋯ In contrast, infants who received GHT did not have decreased respirations, elevated heart rates, or increased cry time during the heel stick. No significant differences were noted in oxygen saturation in either group. GHT is a simple nonpharmacologic therapy that can be used by nurses and families to reduce pain of heel stick in premature infants in the NICU.
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Case Reports
A transdisciplinary team approach to pain management in inpatient health care settings.
This paper will discuss the transition from multidisciplinary to interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary team approaches to pain management at New York University Langone Medical Center - Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine. A transdisciplinary team approach to pain management emphasizes mutual learning, training, and education, and the flexible exchange of discipline-specific roles. ⋯ Topics of exploration include the descriptions of three team approaches to patient care, including their practical, philosophical, and historical basis, strengths and challenges, research support, and cultural diversity. Case vignettes will highlight the strengths and limitations of the transdisciplinary team approach to pain management throughout a broad and diverse continuum of care, including acute medical, palliative, and perioperative care and acute inpatient rehabilitation services.
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Pain management is an important aspect of providing quality health care, and monitoring patient-related outcomes is a recommended quality improvement practice. Valid and reliable tools are needed for this purpose. The American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire (APS-POQ) is widely used to measure quality of pain management. ⋯ Participants had little difficulty in answering the questionnaire, but two additional items about participation in decisions and pain medications were added in response to patients' comments and suggestions. Administering the Icelandic version of the APS-POQ-R was found to be feasible, and the questionnaire has acceptable construct validity and reliability. The results support the use of the APS-POQ-R-I to evaluate the quality of pain management in hospitals in Iceland.
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Chronic low back pain is the most commonly reported chronic pain condition, with an exceedingly high prevalence. The economic burden to society is remarkable with ensuing functional disablement. Although self-management (SM) and self-management support (SMS) are now being recommended to address chronic low back pain, there is a paucity of research on SM, SMS, and functional ability in this patient population. ⋯ There is an increased need for education and support of patients' mental state to facilitate SM. It is equally important for health care professionals to be proficient in providing SMS. These findings provide essential foundation toward evaluating the impact of SM and SMS on functional ability and other chronic low back pain outcomes.
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Meditation is gaining popularity as an effective means of managing and attenuating pain and has been particularly effective for migraines. Meditation additionally addresses the negative emotional states known to exist with migraines. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of meditation as an immediate intervention for reducing migraine pain as well as alleviating emotional tension, examined herein as a negative affect hypothesized to be correlated with pain. ⋯ The data suggest that a single exposure to a brief meditative technique can significantly reduce pain and tension, as well as offer several clinical implications. It can be concluded that single exposure to a meditative technique can significantly reduce pain and tension. The effectiveness and immediacy of this intervention offers several implications for nurses.