Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses
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Older adults manage their pain at home after outpatient surgery. Yet the experience and management of postoperative pain outside the hospital is largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine older adults' experiences of postoperative pain and their methods of pain management after discharge from outpatient surgery. ⋯ Pain management instructions did not make a difference in the way pain was managed. Overall, findings indicate that older postoperative patients are not adequately medicating themselves for pain after discharge. Furthermore, when participants were asked, "From this list of nonpharmacologic activities, which activities helped relieve pain?" the most frequently selected answer was "to stay still or not move." This finding requires further investigation to determine if older adults are using immobility as a way to control their pain.
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The effective management of pain at the end of life relies on the accurate assessment of pain. Language is the mechanism through which pain is assessed using self-report pain tools. The purpose of this study was to explore how elderly hospice patients describe their pain and to compare their descriptions with three commonly used pain assessment tools (i.e., McGill Pain Questionnaire, Memorial Pain Assessment Card, and the Visual Analogue Scale). ⋯ In describing their pain, participants used many words, emphasized their pain by repeating those words, and used similes to describe their pain. The participants used approximately 30% of the standardized language found in three commonly used self-report instruments. These findings suggest that in conjunction with self-report instruments, the patient's own verbal descriptions should be used in the assessment of pain.
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Comparative Study
Pain problems in young adults and pain reduction strategies.
The purpose of this study was to survey young adults about their pain and pain treatments to identify ways to decrease risk for chronic pain. The sample consisted of 89 young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 who had experienced some pain during the past month and who did not have a chronic condition commonly associated with a pain problem. Community dwelling young adults were screened for eligibility and administered the Brief Pain Inventory Short Form (BPI-SF) during a face-to-face interview. ⋯ Pain moderately interfered with their mood (M = 4.1; SD = 3.00) and general lives (M = 3.9; SD = 2.42). Identifying young adults at risk for chronic pain provides the first step in educating them about effective ways to prevent chronic pain. Results from this study provide some initial groundwork for educational interventions to prevent chronic pain in young adults.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Relaxation and music reduce pain after gynecologic surgery.
The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to investigate the effect of three nonpharmacologic nursing interventions: relaxation, music, and the combination of relaxation and music on pain following gynecologic (GYN) surgery. A total of 311 patients, ages 18 to 70, from five Midwestern hospitals, were randomly assigned using minimization to either three intervention groups or a control group and were tested during ambulation and rest on postoperative days 1 and 2. Pain sensation and distress were measured using visual analogue scales. ⋯ Reduced pain was related to amount of activity (ambulation or rest), mastery of the use of the intervention, and decreased pulse and respiration. Those who slept well had less pain the following day. Nurses who care for GYN surgical patients can provide soft music and relaxation tapes and instruct patients to use them during postoperative ambulation and also at rest on days 1 and 2.