This highlights that the control of pain is a serious issue for a large number of patients that are hospitalized (Daniel & Carr 2001). This essay will explore lack of knowledge and attitude as nurse-related barriers to effective pain assessment and management with respect to elderly patients. Communication will also be discussed as patient-related barrier in assessing and managing pain. These barriers will be further explored and discussed throughout this essay and will be supported by the relevant literature. Furthermore, the discussion will also concentrate on how these barriers can be overcome using various educational texts, within the healthcare context. There is a lot of evidence to demonstrate that nurses a have poor knowledge about pain and its management. For instance, Howell et al, (2000) in a study serves to confirm this postulation due to relatively poor educational curriculum for nurses in UK. A recent study carried out by Carr (2001) also suggests that modern-day nursing and medical education programs do not equip health care professionals with significant information on the nature of pain, the methods of pain assessments and the principles of pain management hence bringing about barriers to effective pain management. ...
Concluded that lack of pain knowledge and general attitude are barriers in pain assessment and management which nursing professional should address to manage pain effectively. King (2004) identified how nurses confirm that they have a limited understanding
Critically analyse 2-4 facilitators and/or barriers to effective pain assessment, within a clinical setting - Essay Example
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Critically analyse 2-4 facilitators and/or barriers to effective pain assessment, within a clinical setting
of pharmacology and claim they are dissatisfied with the educational experience, leading to feelings of anxiety following qualification, which affects their attitude towards pain assessment and management. With a lack of knowledge and basic fundamental management skills, nurses may feel unprepared to care for patients suffering from pain, and consequently make incorrect decisions regarding the management of patient’s pain. Communication The assessment as well as management of pain on elderly persons often presents a challenge to nurses. This is because elderly patients are more likely to experience both chronic and acute pain compared to younger patients. Prevalence of cognitive impairment, failing sight, hearing, confusion and dementia contribute to communication difficulties and as a result, this poses significant barriers to pain assessment particularly when using communication as a pain assessment tool. Dementia with ageing, are problems that may present serious barriers to the assessment of pain. A study of 60 Alzheimer's patients who were unable to communicate verbally showed that 26 had conditions commonly associated with pain but only three were given analgesics (Marzinski 1991). Parmelee et al. (1993) studied 758 patients in nursing homes, and concluded that although cognitively impaired patients’ slightly under-reported pain, their reports were as valid as for patients with no cognitive deficit. This suggests that
Summary
FACILITATORS AND/OR BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE PAIN ASSESSMENT WITHIN A CLINICAL SETTING Name: Institution: Course: Tutor: Date: Introduction Pain is an experience a human being undergoes which is difficult to define and describe (Brennan 2007). According to Brennan (2007), pain is unique to every individual as individuals have different perceptions and tolerance on pain…
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