As a result of an institutional commitment to pain management, a hospital-based nursing orientation program is being developed to address the multicultural issues surrounding pain management in end of life care in a multicultural organizational setting. Health care providers need to be cognizant of the impact of their own cultural beliefs, attitudes and values, as well as of those of their patients, as they manage patients' pain throughout end of life care.
The educational program will provide a formal means to educate nursing staff during their orientation about the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to provide pain management to a culturally diverse patient during end of life care. Evaluation research will be the methodological framework used for this program. A pre/post measure, The Multicultural Issues of Pain Management in End of Life Care Questionnaire, will be used to determine changes in nurses' attitudes and knowledge regarding pain management and multicultural issues at the end of life.
If this program is successful in meeting its identified objectives, it will reinforce the need to continue such a program as part of the organization's overall nursing orientation program. Staff nurses will have more expertise when advocating for and managing culturally diverse patients' pain in the end of life phase of care. Patients will benefit from improved comfort and self-reported pain ratings that will approximate their desired pain goals for this stage of life. This project also will serve as a springboard for further research in this important area of nursing practice.
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Back to 14th International Nursing Research Congress
Sigma Theta Tau International
10-12 July 2003