Pain Assessment of Adults with Sickle cell Disease

Adegbola, Maxine

Monday, 18 November 2013: 2:05 PM

Maxine Adegbola, PhD, RN, CNE, ANEF
College of Nursing, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX

Learning Objective 1: Describe the lived experience of adults with sickle cell disease pain (SCD) as highlighted by their personal stories

Learning Objective 2: Discuss implications for clinicians, and researchers who serve individuals with SCD, and wish to personalize care, utilize multidisciplinary collaborative efforts and thus reduce health disparities

Objective: Sickle cell disease is a global health problem. Adults with sickle cell disease (SCD) are living longer and report dissatisfaction with management approaches to chronic pain, which at times has an acute exacerbation. Healthcare providers do not clearly understand the pain from the individual’s perspective, and are challenged to effectively manage this unique pain. The purpose of presentation is to discuss the lived experiences of adults with SCD-related pain.

Method: A phenomenological study that used open-ended interviewing of adult SCD patients was conducted to describe the lived experiences of chronic pain from the individual’s perspective. Participants were recruited from a SCD community based support group.

Results: The major theme from the analyzed data identified that individuals’ belief that assessment of pain with the current numeric pain scale does not accurately capture the intensity of the pain.

Conclusion: Adults with SCD pain report perceived inadequate assessment and treatment of chronic pain. Research findings will help providers, clinicians and researchers gain a better understanding of the individual’s pain experiences, and give direction for offering personalized, culturally specific and appropriately tailored interventions and pain management approaches.

See more of: Chronic Global Health Conditions
See more of: Oral Paper & Poster: Science Sessions