Pain Management
Pain Management
- Pain is a complex, multidimensional experience that can cause suffering and decreased quality of life
- One major reason people seek health care
Definition of Pain
- “Whatever the person experiencing pain says it is, existing whenever the person says it does.” Margo McCaffery
- “Unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage.” IASP
Magnitude of Pain problem
- 25 million people experience acute pain from injury or surgery
- Chronic pain affects over a million American adults
- 60% of cancer patients experience pain during treatment
- Despite the prevalence of pain, many studies document inadequate pain management across care settings and patient populations
- Consequences of untreated pain
- Unnecessary suffering
- Physical and psychosocial dysfunction
- Immunosuppression
- Sleep disturbances
Description of Pain
- Subjective: Patient’s experience and self-report are essential
- Can be problematic when dealing with special populations (coma or dementia)
- Nonverbal information such as behaviors aids the assessment of pain
Dimensions of Pain
- Biopsychosocial Model of Pain
- Physiologic
- Affective
- Cognitive
- Behavioral
- Sociocultural