title: A pilot study investigating the effect of a patient-held pain assessment tool in palliative care outpatients attending a rural Kenyan hospital.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pain is a frequent and distressing symptom in palliative care patients worldwide. Careful assessment is the first vital step to relieve this suffering. Assessment tools form a useful adjunct to pain management, but whether they make a difference to the patient is not known.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to investigate whether the use of a patient-held pain assessment tool can make a difference in patient's pain control.
  
  
  METHODS
  AIC Kijabe Hospital, Kenya, has had a nurse-led Palliative Care Service since 2002, with an annual case-load of around 600 patients. Study participants were recruited from among adult palliative care patients attending the Outpatient Department.
  
  
  METHODS
  A quantitative experimental study methodology was employed. In the pre-intervention phase, pain was assessed at study entry and at 2 weeks, following 'standard' care at home; 49 patients were recruited for this phase. In the intervention phase, pain assessments were made at entry, with follow-up assessment after introduction to a patient-held pain assessment tool taken home by each patient; 50 patients were recruited for this phase. Analysis involved a comparison of baseline and 2-week pain scores between the two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results demonstrated that the use of a patient-held pain assessment tool led to an increase in the number of patients reaching satisfactory pain relief, from 30% in the pre-intervention group, to 69% in the intervention group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study has demonstrated that a simple pain assessment tool, when linked to some action, may help achieve better analgesia.
authors.affiliation: Waterside Health Centre, Hythe, Southampton, UK cbesley@nhs.net.
authors.forename: Charlie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Besley
authors.affiliation: Department Medical Physiology, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Hellen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kariuki
authors.affiliation: Chair of Palliative Medicine Department, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fallon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000698:Analgesia / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007630:Kenya; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D059408:Pain Management / Q000592:standards*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010865:Pilot Projects
keywords: Pain; pain assessment tool; pain management