9 hours ago · Pain reporting in general may also be influenced by internal factors such as negative affect, and contextual factors such as interpersonal trust, expectations of biased physician perceptions and treatment, or an aversion to certain stigmas associated with pain ( Koller et al., 1996; Slade et al., 2009; Buchman et al., 2016 ). >> Go To The Portal
Factors Influencing the Pain Response
A person’s pain experience is influenced by a number of factors, including past experiences with pain, anxiety, culture, age, gen-der, and expectations about pain relief. These factors may in-crease or decrease the person’s perception of pain, increase or decrease tolerance for pain, and affect the responses to pain.
The individual who has pain for months or years may become irritable, withdrawn, and depressed. The undesirable effects that may result from previous experi-ence point to the need for the nurse to be aware of the patient’s past experiences with pain.
These factors may in-crease or decrease the person’s perception of pain, increase or decrease tolerance for pain, and affect the responses to pain. It is tempting to expect that a person who has had multiple or prolonged experiences with pain would be less anxious and more tolerant of pain than one who has had little pain.
The way a person responds to pain is a result of many separate painful events during a lifetime. For some, past pain may have been constant and unrelenting, as in prolonged or chronic and persistent pain. The individual who has pain for months or years may become irritable, withdrawn, and depressed.
The perception of, expression of, and reaction to pain are influenced by genetic, developmental, familial, psychological, social and cultural variables. Psychological factors, such as the situational and emotional factors that exist when we experience pain, can profoundly alter the strength of these perceptions.
Patients should be asked to describe their pain in terms of the following characteristics: location, radiation, mode of onset, character, temporal pattern, exacerbating and relieving factors, and intensity. The Joint Commission updated the assessment of pain to include focusing on how it affects patients' function.
Nurses can help patients more accurately report their pain by using these very specific PQRST assessment questions:P = Provocation/Palliation. What were you doing when the pain started? ... Q = Quality/Quantity. What does it feel like? ... R = Region/Radiation. ... S = Severity Scale. ... T = Timing. ... Documentation.
Patients' self-reporting (expression) of their pain is regarded as the gold standard of pain assessment measurement as it provides the most valid measurement of pain (Melzack and Katz, 1994).
Using the Pain ScaleIf you want your pain to be taken seriously, ... 0 – Pain Free.1 – Pain is very mild, barely noticeable. ... 2 – Minor pain. ... 3 – Pain is noticeable and distracting, however, you can get used to it and adapt.4 – Moderate pain. ... 5 – Moderately strong pain.More items...
Numeric rating scales (NRS) A person rates their pain on a scale of 0 to 10 or 0 to 5. Zero means “no pain,” and 5 or 10 means “the worst possible pain.” These pain intensity levels may be assessed upon initial treatment, or periodically after treatment.
Pain Assessment ScalesNumerical Rating Scale (NRS)Visual Analog Scale (VAS)Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale (DVPRS)Adult Non-Verbal Pain Scale (NVPS)Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia Scale (PAINAD)Behavioral Pain Scale (BPS)Critical-Care Observation Tool (CPOT)
Purpose of pain assessment Detect and describe pain to help in the diagnostic process; Understand the cause of the pain to help determine the best treatment; Monitor the pain to determine whether the underlying disease or disorder is improving or deteriorating, and whether the pain treatment is working.
History of Your PainWhat caused my pain in the first place?Did my pain start suddenly or gradually?How long have I been in pain?What am I currently doing to manage my pain?Is there anything I'm doing that's reducing my pain?What pain medications have I taken in the past, and how did they work for me?More items...
THE FOUR MAJOR TYPES OF PAIN:Nociceptive Pain: Typically the result of tissue injury. ... Inflammatory Pain: An abnormal inflammation caused by an inappropriate response by the body's immune system. ... Neuropathic Pain: Pain caused by nerve irritation. ... Functional Pain: Pain without obvious origin, but can cause pain.
Aggravating/alleviating factors Other factors (movement, physical therapy, activity, intravenous sticks or blood draws, mental anguish, depression, sadness, bad news) may intensify the pain.
Just as anxiety is associated with pain because of concerns and fears about the underlying disease, depression is associated with chronic pain and unrelieved cancer pain. In chronic pain situa-tions, depression is associated with major life changes due to the limiting effects of the pain, specifically unemployment.
However, confusion in the elderly may be a result of untreated and unrelieved pain.
Although many elderly people seek health care because of pain, others are reluctant to seek help even when in severe painbecause they consider pain to be part of normal aging. Assessment of pain in older adults may be difficult because of the physiologic, psychosocial, and cognitive changes that often accompany aging.
A person’s pain experience is influenced by a number of factors, including past experiences with pain, anxiety, culture, age, gen-der, and expectations about pain relief .
Conversely, someone who has never had severe pain may have no fear of such pain. The way a person responds to pain is a result of many separate painful events during a lifetime.
The routine use of antianxiety medications to treat anxiety in someone with pain may prevent the person from reporting pain because of sedation and may impair the patient’s ability to take deep breaths, get out of bed, and cooperate with the treatment plan.
Factors that help to explain differences in a cultural group include age, gender, education level, and income . In addition, the degree to which a patient identifies with a culture influences the degree to which he or she will adopt new health behaviors or cling to traditional health be-liefs and practices.