title: Assessing pain: a vital part of nursing care.
abstract: Adequate pain relief cannot be achieved without professionals understanding how the pain affects the individuals concerned. This second of six weekly articles looks at how to deal effectively with pain. It considers issues of assessment and proposes a three-part model: always believe the patient, assess pain accurately using a reliable tool, and ask patients how they understand their pain. Next week's article will examine how patients' characteristics influence pain assessment.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Community Studies, Bournemouth University.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carr
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D010146:Pain / Q000451:nursing; D010147:Pain Measurement