Nursing's role in cancer pain management

Abstract

Nurses have advanced practice, research, and education in the field of cancer pain management. This paper highlights the contributions nurses have made to pain science and practice through literature published in the past 3 years. Work accomplished by nurses is examined in the areas of pain assessment, pain management, intervention-based research, evidence-based practice, patient education, and palliative care. Nurses serve as advocates for empowering patients to engage in self-management of their pain, and offer education and support to patients and families at their most vulnerable times. Nurse researchers have been at the forefront of work to develop and test new instruments and approaches to measure pain, elucidate pain experiences through quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and gauge the quality of pain care for patients and its impact on their caregivers. This research has uncovered many patient, health care professional, and systemic barriers to effective pain control, and has offered feasible solutions to overcoming these barriers.