Assessment of patient satisfaction with pain management in small community inpatient and outpatient settings.
OBJECTIVE
To describe patient outcomes (e.g., pain intensity and relief, satisfaction, expectations) and analgesic practices of healthcare providers for inpatients and outpatients in community hospital settings.


METHODS
Descriptive, correlational, and random sampling.


METHODS
Three community-based institutions in southeast Louisiana.


METHODS
114 inpatients and outpatients with cancer-related or acute postoperative pain. Inpatients (n = 68) mostly were women and younger than 60 years of age. Outpatients (n = 46) mostly were men and older than 60 years of age. Both groups were predominantly well-educated and Caucasian.


METHODS
Subjects completed a modified version of the American Pain Society's Patient Satisfaction Survey. Researchers completed a chart audit tool reviewing analgesic prescriptive and administrative practices.


RESULTS
Weak to moderately strong correlations existed for the relationships between the satisfaction variables and the pain intensity, pain relief, and expectation variables for all subjects. Satisfaction with current pain intensity was correlated most strongly with pain intensity and relief scores. Higher pain intensity and relief were related to lower satisfaction with current pain intensity.


CONCLUSIONS
Regardless of setting or pain type, subjects experienced significant amounts of pain during a 24-hour period. Patient expectations for experiencing high levels of pain were realized, but expectations for significant pain relief were not.


CONCLUSIONS
Institutional pain management programs that approach pain from a multidimensional perspective need to be developed. Continued education for healthcare professionals and patients is a vital part of this process.
Corizzo
C C
CC
St. Tammany Parish Hospital, Covington, LA, USA. ccorizzo@stph.org
Baker
M C
MC
Henkelmann
G C
GC
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006764:Hospitals, Community / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology; D008145:Louisiana; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications; D009859:Oncology Nursing; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010045:Outpatients / Q000523:psychology; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000145:classification*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D000700:Analgesics