Factors associated with adequate pain control in hospitalized postsurgical patients diagnosed with cancer.
The inadequate management of pain continues to be a significant problem for persons with cancer. Experts suggest that contributing factors include discrepancies in pain assessment, inadequate administration of opiate therapy, and insufficient documentation of the patient's pain experience. This study, part of a multidepartmental investigation into the adequacy of pain management in hospitalized patients, describes the pain experience of surgical oncology patients. Its correlational ex post facto design (n = 34) was guided by Loeser's model of pain. Randomly selected surgical oncology patients were interviewed using a structured format. The patient's primary nurse and physician simultaneously completed brief assessments of their perceptions of the patient's pain intensity. Data were analyzed using descriptive and correlational statistics, and implications for nursing practice and future nursing research are discussed.
Paice
J A
JA
College of Nursing, Rush University, Chicago, Illinois 60612.
Mahon
S M
SM
Faut-Callahan
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*
D000701:Analgesics, Opioid