scholarly journals Nurses’ experiences of providing nonpharmacological pain management in palliative care: A qualitative study

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 1643-1652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wisdom Muleya Munkombwe ◽  
Kerstin Petersson ◽  
Carina Elgán
2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 2435-2445
Author(s):  
Julia Hackett ◽  
Matthew J Allsop ◽  
Sally Taylor ◽  
Michael I Bennett ◽  
Bridgette M Bewick

In cancer care, there are emerging information and communication technology systems being developed, enabling real-time information sharing between patients and health professionals. This study explored health professionals’ and patients’ perceptions of their engagement with an information and communication technology system for pain management to understand the mechanisms that could support implementation into routine palliative care practice. This was a qualitative study, embedded within a randomised control trial, using semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The role of health professionals was a key component to patient engagement with the information and communication technology system. Where patients engaged with the information and communication technology system, both patients and health professionals reported benefits to system use in addition to usual care. Implementation issues were identified that can be used to guide future system development to support pain management in the context of routine clinical care in palliative care services. Where interventions are dependent on multiple providers, collaborative working and consideration of the context within which they are set are needed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Tan Seng Beng ◽  
Wong Ka Ghee ◽  
Ng Yun Hui ◽  
Ooi Chieh Yin ◽  
Khoo Wei Shen Kelvin ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective Dying is mostly seen as a dreadful event, never a happy experience. Yet, as palliative care physicians, we have seen so many patients who remained happy despite facing death. Hence, we conducted this qualitative study to explore happiness in palliative care patients at the University of Malaya Medical Centre. Method Twenty terminally ill patients were interviewed with semi-structured questions. The results were thematically analyzed. Results Eight themes were generated: the meaning of happiness, connections, mindset, pleasure, health, faith, wealth, and work. Our results showed that happiness is possible at the end of life. Happiness can coexist with pain and suffering. Social connections were the most important element of happiness at the end of life. Wealth and work were given the least emphasis. From the descriptions of our patients, we recognized a tendency for the degree of importance to shift from the hedonic happiness to eudaimonic happiness as patients experienced a terminal illness. Significance of results To increase the happiness of palliative care patients, it is crucial to assess the meaning of happiness for each patient and the degree of importance for each happiness domain to allow targeted interventions.


2021 ◽  
pp. bmjspcare-2020-002638
Author(s):  
Juan Yang ◽  
Dietlind L Wahner-Roedler ◽  
Xuan Zhou ◽  
Lesley A Johnson ◽  
Alex Do ◽  
...  

BackgroundPain is one of the most common and problematic symptoms encountered by patients with cancer. Due to the multifactorial aetiology, pain management of these patients frequently requires multidisciplinary interventions including conventional support and specialty palliative care. Acupuncture has been identified as a possible adjunctive therapy for symptom management in cancer pain, and there is currently no systematic review focused solely on the evidence of acupuncture on cancer pain in palliative care.ObjectiveTo critically analyse currently available publications regarding the use of acupuncture for pain management among patients with cancer in palliative care settings.MethodsMultiple academic databases were searched from inception to 29 October 2020. Randomised controlled trials involving acupuncture in palliative care for treatment of cancer-related pain were synthesised. Data were extracted by two independent reviewers, and methodological quality of each included study was assessed using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (OCEBM) 2011 Levels of Evidence.ResultsFive studies (n=189) were included in this systematic review. Results indicated a favourable effect of acupuncture on pain relief in palliative care for patients with cancer. According to OCEBM 2011 Levels of Evidence, they were level 2 in one case (20%), level 3 in two cases (40%) and level 4 in the remaining (40%). Low-level evidence adversely affects the reliability of findings.ConclusionsAcupuncture may be an effective and safe treatment associated with pain reduction in the palliative care of patients with cancer. Further high-quality, adequately powered studies are needed in the future.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koharu Loulou Chayama ◽  
Jenna Valleriani ◽  
Cara Ng ◽  
Rebecca Haines‐Saah ◽  
Rielle Capler ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail Kusi Amponsah ◽  
Evans Frimpong Kyei ◽  
John Bright Agyemang ◽  
Hanson Boakye ◽  
Joana Kyei-Dompim ◽  
...  

Staff shortages, deficient knowledge, inappropriate attitudes, demanding workloads, analgesic shortages, and low prioritization of pain management have been identified in earlier studies as the nursing-related barriers to optimal children’s pain management. These studies have mainly been undertaken in developed countries, which have different healthcare dynamics than those in developing countries. The current study, therefore, sought to identify and understand the nursing-related barriers to children’s pain management in the Ghanaian context. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted among 28 purposively sampled nurses working in the pediatric units of five hospitals in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Over the course of three months, participants were interviewed on the barriers which prevented them from optimally managing children’s pain in practice. Recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and deductively analysed based on a conceptual interest in pain assessment and management-related barriers. NVivo 12 plus software guided data management and analyses. The mean age of participating nurses was 30 years, with majority being females (n = 24). Participants had worked in the nursing profession for an average of five years and in the pediatric care settings for an average of two years. The nursing-related barriers identified in the present study included communication difficulties in assessing and evaluating pain management interventions with children who have nonfunctional speech, insufficient training, misconceptions on the experience of pain in children, lack of assessment tools, and insufficient number of nurses to manage the workload and nurses’ inability to prescribe analgesics. The present study revealed some barriers which prevented Ghanaian nurses from optimally managing children’s pain. Nurses should be educated, empowered, and supported with the requisite material resources to effectively manage children’s pain and improve outcomes for families, healthcare systems, and the nation. Future studies should explore the facilitators and barriers from other stakeholders involved in pediatric pain management.


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