An Assessment of Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Toward End of Life Care Pain Management
Author | : Amy Pritchard Davis |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 138 |
Release | : 2014 |
ISBN-10 | : OCLC:894706250 |
ISBN-13 | : |
Rating | : 4/5 (50 Downloads) |
Download or read book An Assessment of Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Toward End of Life Care Pain Management written by Amy Pritchard Davis and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study was completed to help determine if nurses had a true understanding of how to provide pain management to patients in their care who were at the end of their life. A review of literature was completed and it revealed that nurses have a fear of opioid overdose and respiratory depression in their patients when providing pain management. It also revealed that patients have a fear of dying in pain at the end of their life especially if they have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. The study also revealed that when patients die in pain it actually impedes quality of life and that there are too many patients that are still dying in pain. The conceptual framework that guided this study was Betty Neuman's Healthcare Systems Model on how stressors can have a direct impact on pain management. Statistical analysis was completed from the sample size of 26 participants and revealed that while nurses showed knowledge on pain management, more knowledge and education was needed in knowing how to document the patient's pain accurately and administer accordingly. There is still evidence that shows patients are dying in pain and are undertreated for pain. Surveys of nurses have revealed knowledge deficits in these areas that are thought to contribute to under treatment of pain. As nurses and patient advocates, this is where an intervention needs to be made. No patient deserves to die in pain when there are plenty of opioid or non-opioid medications from which to choose that will help alleviate the symptoms and discomfort.