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. 2018 Mar 16:17:11.
doi: 10.1186/s12912-018-0281-3. eCollection 2018.

Challenges faced by nurses in using pain assessment scale in patients unable to communicate: a qualitative study

Kolsoum Deldar  1 , Razieh Froutan  2 , Abbas Ebadi  3
Affiliations

Challenges faced by nurses in using pain assessment scale in patients unable to communicate: a qualitative study

Kolsoum Deldar et al. BMC Nurs. .

Abstract

Background: One helpful strategy adopted for pain management in non-verbal, intubated patients is the use of a proper pain assessment scale. The purpose of the present study is to achieve a better and deeper understanding of the existing nurses' challenges in using pain assessment scales among patients unable to communicate.

Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using content analysis. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants and continued until data saturation. The participants included 20 nurses working in intensive care units. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and analysis was done using an inductive approach.

Results: Four categories and ten sub-categories were extracted from the experiences of the nurses working in the intensive care units in terms of nursing challenges in using non-verbal pain assessment scales. The four categories included "forgotten priority", "organizational barriers", "attitudinal barriers", and "barriers to knowledge".

Conclusions: The findings of the present study have shown that various factors might influence on the use of non-verbal pain assessment scales in patients unable to communicate. Identifying these challenges for nurses can help take effective steps such as empowering nurses in the use of non-verbal pain assessment scales, relieving pain, and improving the quality of care services.

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Conflict of interest statement

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in May 2016 (code: IR.MUMS.REC.1395.159). A written consent was obtained from all participants before recording the interviews. They were informed of the purpose of the study and the voluntary nature of their participation.The article does not contain any individual’s details and consent for publication is not applicable.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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