A pilot study investigating the effect of a patient-held pain assessment tool in palliative care outpatients attending a rural Kenyan hospital. (October 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Besley, Charlie; Kariuki, Hellen; Fallon, Marie
• Is Part Of: Palliative medicine. Volume 28:Number 9(2014)
• Page Start: 1156
• Page End: 1160
• Publication Date: 2014-10
• Subjects: Pain -- pain management -- pain assessment tool; Pain -- Treatment -- Periodicals; Cancer -- Palliative treatment -- Periodicals; Palliative Care -- Periodicals; Palliatieve behandeling; 616.029
• DOI: 10.1177/0269216314536947
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-2163

Abstract

Background: Pain is a frequent and distressing symptom in palliative care patients worldwide. Careful assessment is the first vital step to relieve this suffering. Assessment tools form a useful adjunct to pain management, but whether they make a difference to the patient is not known. Aim: The objective of this study was to investigate whether the use of a patient-held pain assessment tool can make a difference in patient's pain control. Setting and Participants: AIC Kijabe Hospital, Kenya, has had a nurse-led Palliative Care Service since 2002, with an annual case-load of around 600 patients. Study participants were recruited from among adult palliative care patients attending the Outpatient Department. Design: A quantitative experimental study methodology was employed. In the pre-intervention phase, pain was assessed at study entry and at 2 weeks, following 'standard' care at home; 49 patients were recruited for this phase. In the intervention phase, pain assessments were made at entry, with follow-up assessment after introduction to a patient-held pain assessment tool taken home by each patient; 50 patients were recruited for this phase. Analysis involved a comparison of baseline and 2-week pain scores between the two groups. Results: The results demonstrated that the use of a patient-held pain assessment tool led to an increase in the number of patients reaching satisfactory pain relief, from 30% in the pre-intervention group, to 69% in the intervention group. Conclusion: This study has demonstrated that a simple pain assessment tool, when linked to some action, may help achieve better analgesia.