title: Treating without Seeing: Pain Management Practice in a Thai Context.
abstract: Pain management is a core nursing function, and it plays a key role in postoperative care. It is important to understand the cultural context of nursing practices and how this affects effective pain management. The aim of this study was to describe the professional and cultural framework within which pain management is practiced on a Thai surgical ward. Spradley's ethnographic methodology was used. Data were collected through 98.5 hours of field observations and interviews at a surgical ward in Thailand. Three themes were constructed that describe the way Thai nurses practiced pain management: (i) complex communications system to address pain and to respond to it, (ii) the essence of Thai-ness, and (iii) a passive approach to pain management. The results indicate that, in the response to discomfort and pain, better pain management will result if there is a shift from functional to patient-centered care. The nursing culture needs to be further researched and discussed, in order to set priorities in line with the goals of national and international organizations for improving postoperative care and promoting patient comfort.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Rangsit University, Pathum Thani, Thailand.
authors.forename: Manaporn
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1123-1336
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chatchumni
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Rangsit University, Pathum Thani, Thailand.
authors.forename: Ampaporn
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Namvongprom
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing and Care, The Swedish Red Cross University College, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0335-3472
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Eriksson
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing and Care, The Swedish Red Cross University College, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Monir
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mazaheri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult