Assessment tools for the evaluation of pain in the oncology patient

Anderson, Karen O.

doi:10.1007/s11916-007-0201-9

Cited by 21 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 47 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…A failure to use valid, reliable and culturally appropriate measurement instruments leads to lack of recognition of pain; it is well known that the proportion of inadequately treated patients varies significantly depending on method of evaluation used [18,22]. Without documentation of a patient's pain in relation to the current analgesic regimen, appropriate management cannot be implemented [24].…”

Section: Why Do Healthcare Providers Undertreat?mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Under-treatment of cancer pain

Fairchild

2010

Current Opinion in Supportive &Amp; Palliative Care

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Why Do Healthcare Providers Undertreat?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Errors in treatment of pain unfortunately remain common and may be due to insufficient knowledge of medication classes, routes, schedules, or equianalgesic doses [3,24,26]. Analgesics prescribed may not be tailored to the pathophysiologic mechanism of pain [3].…”

Section: Why Do Healthcare Providers Undertreat?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Under-treatment of cancer pain

Fairchild

2010

Current Opinion in Supportive &Amp; Palliative Care

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Still, several barriers prevent appropriate pain assessment for adolescents. There is no well-validated multidimensional tool evaluating the sensory (intensity, quality, and location of pain), affective (emotional effects), and evaluative (pain’s interference with daily activities) dimensions of pain in adolescents with cancer [11]. In addition, existing tools have methodological problems and do not allow for longitudinal assessments in everyday settings [12,13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and Testing of a Multidimensional iPhone Pain Assessment Application for Adolescents with Cancer

Stinson¹,

Jibb²,

Nguyen³

et al. 2013

J Med Internet Res

266

219

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundPain is one of the most common and distressing symptoms reported by adolescents with cancer. Despite advancements in pain assessment and management research, pain due to cancer and/or its treatments continues to be poorly managed. Our research group has developed a native iPhone application (app) called Pain Squad to tackle the problem of poorly managed pain in the adolescent with cancer group. The app functions as an electronic pain diary and is unique in its ability to collect data on pain intensity, duration, location, and the impact pain has on an adolescent’s life (ie, relationships, school work, sleep, mood). It also evaluates medications and other physical and psychological pain management strategies used. Users are prompted twice daily at configurable times to complete 20 questions characterizing their pain and the app transmits results to a database for aggregate reporting through a Web interface. Each diary entry represents a pain case filed by an adolescent with cancer and a reward system (ie, moving up through law-enforcement team ranks, built-in videotaped acknowledgements from fictitious officers) encourages consistent use of the diary.ObjectiveOur objective was to design, develop, and test the usability, feasibility, compliance, and satisfaction of a game-based smartphone pain assessment tool for adolescents with cancer.MethodsWe used both low- and high-fidelity qualitative usability testing with qualitative semi-structured, audio-taped interviews and iterative cycles to design and refine the iPhone based Pain Squad app. Qualitative thematic analysis of interviews using constant comparative methodology captured emergent themes related to app usability. Content validity was assessed using question importance-rating surveys completed by participants. Compliance and satisfaction data were collected following a 2-week feasibility trial where users were alarmed to record their pain twice daily on the app.ResultsThematic analysis of usability interviews showed the app to be appealing overall to adolescents. Analyses of both low- and high-fidelity testing resulted in minor revisions to the app to refine the theme and improve its usability. Adolescents resoundingly endorsed the game-based nature of the app and its virtual reward system. The importance of app pain diary questions was established by content validity analysis. Compliance with the app, assessed during feasibility testing, was high (mean 81%, SD 22%) and adolescents from this phase of the study found the app likeable, easy to use, and not bothersome to complete.ConclusionsA multifaceted usability approach demonstrated how the Pain Squad app could be made more appealing to children and adolescents with cancer. The game-based nature and built-in reward system of the app was appealing to adolescents and may have resulted in the high compliance rates and satisfaction ratings observed during clinical feasibility testing.

show abstract

“…their own subjective judgement about the patient's pain, such as reliance on non-verbal behaviour as a pain indicator, has also been shown to impede appropriate pain management [13]. Research identifies other plausible explanations for inadequate treatment of cancer-related pain, such as insufficient routine procedures for systematic measurement and assessment of pain [14,15]. Consequently, the introduction of pain assessment instruments has been shown to reduce the impact of pain on patients' daily lives as well as improving how they manage their pain [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A theory-based educational intervention targeting nurses' attitudes and knowledge concerning cancer-related pain management: A study protocol of a quasi-experimental design

Borglin

Gustafsson

Krona

2011

BMC Health Serv Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundPain is one of the most frequent problems among patients diagnosed with cancer. Despite the availability of effective pharmacological treatments, this group of patients often receives less than optimal treatment. Research into nurses' pain management highlights certain factors, such as lack of knowledge and attitudes and inadequate procedures for systematic pain assessment, as common barriers to effective pain management. However, educational interventions targeting nurses' pain management have shown promise. As cancer-related pain is also known to have a negative effect on vital aspects of the patient's life, as well as being commonly associated with problems such as sleep, fatigue, depression and anxiety, further development of knowledge within this area is warranted.Methods/designA quasi-experimental study design will be used to investigate whether the implementation of guidelines for systematic daily pain assessments following a theory-based educational intervention will result in an improvement in knowledge and attitude among nurses. A further aim is to investigate whether the intervention that targets nurses' behaviour will improve hospital patients' perception of pain. Data regarding nurses' knowledge and attitudes to pain (primary outcome), patient perception regarding pain (secondary outcome), together with socio-demographic variables, will be collected at baseline and at four weeks and 12 weeks following the intervention.DiscussionNursing care is nowadays acknowledged as an increasingly complicated activity and "nursing complexity is such that it can be seen as the quintessential complex intervention." To be able to change and improve clinical practice thus requires multiple points of attack appropriate to meet complex challenges. Consequently, we expect the theory-based intervention used in our quasi-experimental study to improve care as well as quality of life for this group of patients and we also envisage that evidence-based guidelines targeting this patient group's pain will be implemented more widely.Trial Registration NumberClinicalTrials.gov NCT01313234

show abstract

Assessment tools for the evaluation of pain in the oncology patient

Cited by 21 publications

References 47 publications

Under-treatment of cancer pain

Under-treatment of cancer pain

Development and Testing of a Multidimensional iPhone Pain Assessment Application for Adolescents with Cancer

A theory-based educational intervention targeting nurses' attitudes and knowledge concerning cancer-related pain management: A study protocol of a quasi-experimental design

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About