How nursing personnel judge patients' pain.
The study examined how nurses, student nurses, and nurse's aides judge patients' level of pain from five indicators: facial grimacing, maintenance of abnormal body position, restriction of movement, complaints about pain, and signs of possible depression. In Toulouse, France, 214 participants were presented with 48 vignettes describing an elderly patient suffering from osteoarthritis who showed various levels of these signs. The three most important factors in judging pain were the difficulty in making social contact with the patient, the patient's avoidance of changing position, and her avoidance of movements. The nurses put more emphasis on the difficulty in making social contact than did the student nurses and nurse's aides. In all groups, each sign of pain contributed independently and additively to the level of pain that the patient was thought to be experiencing.
Igier
Valérie
V
Department of Psychology, Mirail University, Toulouse, France.
Mullet
Etienne
E
Sorum
Paul Clay
PC
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003951:Diagnostic Errors / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D004506:Education, Nursing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D015588:Observer Variation; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000150:complications; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D011584:Psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D012737:Sex Factors; D012919:Social Behavior; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis; D014705:Verbal Behavior