Factors influencing nurses' analgesia decisions

Abstract

The first article in this two-part series (Vol 5(13): 778-84) presented an empirical study of nurses' and patients' pain following surgery. Results indicate that nurses give consistently lower pain ratings for patient's pain than do patients. The main implication of this research is that nurses continue to underestimate the severity of pain suffered by patients postoperatively. This article considers a second empirical study, the objectives of which were to determine which methods nurses use to assess and monitor pain relief and which factors influence their decision to give or withhold analgesia. Results reveal that while nurses claim to rely on patients' self-reports of pain, the most influential factors in the decision whether or not to^ive analgesia are the dosage, type and frequency of drug prescribed. The main reason for withholding analgesia is that the patient reacted adversely to the medication. Student nurses placed more emphasis than trained nurses on the timing and amount of analgesia given. Nurses had a good knowledge of pain assessment tools, although few had used them.