Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jan 1996
Comparative Study Clinical TrialPostoperative pain in children: comparison between ratings of children and nurses.
Frequently, decisions about analgesic treatment of postoperative pain in children are based on judgments made by nurses. Several studies from North America indicate that nurses underestimate the amount of pain experienced by children. Additional investigations are required to evaluate the extent to which this problem affects children in other countries and societies that have various health-care systems. ⋯ The nurses tended to overestimate the effect of analgesics. Although the correlations between the children's and the nurses' pain scores were statistically significant (r = 0.35-0.43, P < 0.001), the findings indicate that the nurses are not good at interpreting the patients' pain. These results from Danish children and nurses are similar to studies in other populations.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jan 1996
Pain management knowledge, attitudes and clinical practice: the impact of nurses' characteristics and education.
This study examined the knowledge, attitudes, and clinical practice of registered nurses (N = 120) regarding pain management. Data were collected from nine varied clinical units in a large, university-affiliated, teaching hospital in an urban area of the Northeast. Demographic information was also collected to explore the relationship between nurses' characteristics, including previous pain education, clinical experience, area of clinical practice, and other variables, and knowledge, attitudes, and clinical practice. ⋯ Ninety percent of the charts had no documentation of the use of nonpharmacological interventions to relieve pain. Although this clinical setting has policies and resources in place regarding the management of pain, it would appear that they are not optimal. Practical recommendations are presented for increasing nurses' knowledge about pain management; improving the quality and the consistency of the assessment, documentation and treatment of pain; and disseminating pain management information.