BACKGROUND: Although nurses have the major responsibility for pain management, little is known about nurses' responses to patients in the process of managing acute pain. OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between nurses' empathic responses and their patients' pain intensity and analgesic administration after surgery. METHODS: Two hundred twenty-five patients from four cardiovascular units in three university-affiliated hospitals were interviewed on the third day after their initial, uncomplicated coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery about their pain and current pain management. Concurrently, their nurses' (n = 94) empathy and pain knowledge and beliefs were assessed. Patient data were aggregated and linked with the assigned nurse to form 80 nurse-patient pairs. RESULTS: Nurses were moderately empathic, and their responses did not significantly influence their patients' pain intensity or analgesia administered. Patients reported moderate to severe pain but received only 47% of their prescribed analgesia. Patients' perceptions of their nurse's attention to their pain were not positive, and empathy explained only 3% of variance in patients' pain intensity. Deficits in knowledge and misbeliefs about pain management were evident for nurses independent of empathy, and knowledge explained 7% of variance in analgesia administered. Hospital sites varied significantly in analgesic practices and pain inservice education for nurses. CONCLUSIONS: Empathy was not associated with patients' pain intensity or analgesic administration.
BACKGROUND: Although nurses have the major responsibility for pain management, little is known about nurses' responses to patients in the process of managing acute pain. OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between nurses' empathic responses and their patients' pain intensity and analgesic administration after surgery. METHODS: Two hundred twenty-five patients from four cardiovascular units in three university-affiliated hospitals were interviewed on the third day after their initial, uncomplicated coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery about their pain and current pain management. Concurrently, their nurses' (n = 94) empathy and pain knowledge and beliefs were assessed. Patient data were aggregated and linked with the assigned nurse to form 80 nurse-patient pairs. RESULTS: Nurses were moderately empathic, and their responses did not significantly influence their patients' pain intensity or analgesia administered. Patients reported moderate to severe pain but received only 47% of their prescribed analgesia. Patients' perceptions of their nurse's attention to their pain were not positive, and empathy explained only 3% of variance in patients' pain intensity. Deficits in knowledge and misbeliefs about pain management were evident for nurses independent of empathy, and knowledge explained 7% of variance in analgesia administered. Hospital sites varied significantly in analgesic practices and pain inservice education for nurses. CONCLUSIONS: Empathy was not associated with patients' pain intensity or analgesic administration.
Authors: Michael McGillion; Adam Dubrowski; Robyn Stremler; Judy Watt-Watson; Fiona Campbell; Colin McCartney; Charles Victor; Jeffrey Wiseman; Linda Snell; Judy Costello; Anja Robb; Sioban Nelson; Jennifer Stinson; Judith Hunter; Thuan Dao; Sara Promislow; Nancy McNaughton; Scott White; Cindy Shobbrook; Lianne Jeffs; Kianda Mauch; Marit Leegaard; W Scott Beattie; Martin Schreiber; Ivan Silver Journal: Pain Res Manag Date: 2011 Nov-Dec Impact factor: 3.037
Authors: Elvira V Lang; Kevin S Berbaum; Stephen G Pauker; Salomao Faintuch; Gloria M Salazar; Susan Lutgendorf; Eleanor Laser; Henrietta Logan; David Spiegel Journal: J Vasc Interv Radiol Date: 2008-03-17 Impact factor: 3.464
Authors: Gordon T Kraft-Todd; Diego A Reinero; John M Kelley; Andrea S Heberlein; Lee Baer; Helen Riess Journal: PLoS One Date: 2017-05-15 Impact factor: 3.240