Pain Management Education for the Hospitalized Patient

Optimal pain management is essential for patient recovery and satisfaction. Patient satisfaction with pain management directly affects their well-being and perception of quality of care received. Current pre-surgical pain education does not allow patients to assist in their self-care in terms of what to expect, medication knowledge, pharmacological and complimentary interventions. A thorough search of CINAHL and MEDLINE databases, as well as professional pain organizations, provided valuable information to develop this educational tool. The pain brochure provides an overview of pain, pain assessment, how to describe pain, and pain treatment options. Valuable input and feedback on the content of this brochure has been obtained from the multi-disciplinary pain committee. The inclusion of information on pharmacological treatment in combination with complimentary treatment should provide patients with a wide-ranging view of how to work with their healthcare team to improve their pain management. Readability statistics with Microsoft Word were performed to ensure the readability for all patients establishing a level of 7.2.  Key to this educational brochure is the emphasis on the patient as an advocate for their own pain management. Implementation of this pain brochure in the pre-hospital period should assist patients to be better prepared for what to expect. The brochure has been approved at a Midwestern Academic Medical Center and is in the process of being printed for implementation. Future research to evaluate the usefulness of this educational tool can assist in continuing to provide the highest quality of care to patients.

Keywords: pain, pain management, pre-operative care, patient education, complimentary therapy