Practices and perceived barriers regarding pain management among Emergency Department physicians: a nationwide multicenter survey in Moroccan hospitals

Abstract

Aim: To describe pain management practices in Moroccan emergency departments, and to identify perceived barriers among emergency department physicians regarding pain management.Methods: Eleven Moroccan emergency departments participated in the study. A nationwide survey was administered to physicians.The questionnaire covered physicians' characteristics, practices regarding pain management, and the perceived barriers to pain control.Results: A total of 86 questionnaires were analyzed. The participants' mean age was 41AE7 years and 59.3% had more than 10 years working experience in emergency departments. The majority of participants were general physicians (87.2%) with no pain education (73.3%). Pain assessment in emergency departments was carried out by 59.3% of the physicians. Simple interrogatory assessment was the main tool (88.3%) with poor use of algometric scales (11.7%). Pain assessment results were not recorded in clinical charts in 93% of cases. Pain reassessment after treatment was carried out by 23.2% of respondents. Physicians had opiophobia in 80.2% of cases. None of the Moroccan emergency departments participating in the study have a written protocol for pain management. Barriers relating to medical staff and the health care system were the most commonly encountered hindrances that preclude emergency department physicians from proper pain management.Conclusions: Despite the availability of international guidelines, pain management practices are still sub-optimal in Moroccan emergency departments.

Managing Pain in Low Resource Settings: Healthcare Professionals’ Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Pain Management in Western Nepal

“… 23 According to Ferrel et al, items should be differentiated with the least correct responses and those with the best scores for better response analysis. 19 For the participants’ perspectives on the practice of pain management, eight questions were developed to assess their practices based on the literature review, 6 , 12 , 24 with six questions on a 4-point Likert scale and two yes/no questions. Consequently, the final questionnaire consisted of 39 items and demographic information.…”

Pharmacogenetic landscape of pain management variants among Mediterranean populations

“…This could be due to the absence of proper pain treatment policy and trainings for PCPs. Therefore, the lack of specialized pain clinics or trained healthcare providers could lead to serious socioeconomic burden in the region ( Louriz et al, 2016 ; Hamdan and Mosleh, 2024 ). In the other hand, there are considerable evidences highlighting the role of genetic, epigenetic and ethnicity as pivotal factors on pain differences and management.…”

Opiophobia in Emergency Department Healthcare Providers: A Survey in Western Switzerland

“…However, opiates are sometimes simply not administered or only in subtherapeutic doses [ 4 ]. This reluctance to use narcotic analgesics has been reported in a majority of ED doctors [ 5 ], due to a lack of knowledge and training of ED doctors, or even prejudice against the use of opioid analgesics. This prejudice, or opiophobia, is defined variously in the literature as underutilization linked to the irrational fear of addiction [ 6 ], to an exaggerated fear of side effects [ 7 ], to moral reasons or to the legal risks associated with their prescription [ 8 , 9 , 10 ].…”