Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses
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Chronic low back pain, one of the most common reasons for seeking healthcare services, causes significant negative impacts on individuals and society. Nonpharmacologic therapies and self-management are included in practice guidelines, but their implementation is challenging. ⋯ It is feasible to learn and self-administer APA with an app, supplemented with either in-person or telehealth sessions, presenting a promising intervention toward cLBP self-management. Telehealth was found to boost this intervention effectively.
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Virtual Reality Based Guided Meditation for Patients with Opioid Tolerance and Opioid Use Disorders.
The management of acute pain in patients with pre-existing opioid tolerance or opioid use disorders presents unique challenges. In light of the concerns regarding opioid use, safe and effective alternatives to opioid medications are of increasing interest. ⋯ This study demonstrates that the use of guided meditation through virtual reality can result in statistically significant reductions in patient-reported pain scores.
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Prescribing and administering opioid doses based solely on pain intensity is inappropriate and potentially unsafe for many reasons, including that pain intensity ratings are completely subjective, cannot be measured objectively, are dynamic as the experience of pain is dynamic, and may be describing a construct other than intensity (i.e. suffering). Many factors, in addition to pain intensity, influence opioid requirements and subsequent dosing. The American Society for Pain Management Nursing (ASPMN) holds the position that the practice of prescribing and administering doses of opioid analgesics based solely on a patient's pain intensity should be prohibited because it disregards the relevance of other essential elements of assessment and may contribute to negative patient outcomes.
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Although nurse's knowledge and attitudes regarding pain management has been sufficiently studied worldwide, the impact of an educational intervention program in improving such attitudes and knowledge has not been likewise researched, especially in Middle Eastern countries. ⋯ Despite the intensive pain education provided at our institution, the pain knowledge of nurses remains below that recommended level which indicates a dire need for more intensive and continuous education in order to provide a pain free environment.
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The pain experience is complex, and nurses are challenged to objectively assess and document patients' subjective reports of pain. There is a clear need for an assessment tool that is easy to use and provides meaningful, actionable information for patients and nurses. ⋯ As a result, CAPA was determined to be convenient, accurate, and valuable in guiding intervention decisions.