Question

Which groups of patients are most at risk for inadequate
pain management?

What can you do to assist each group?

How do past pain experiences affect present
pain experience?

Answer 1

Patients at risk for inadequate pain management:

Childern and the elderly are at risk for inadequate pain management. It is difficult for children and babies to express pain which contributes to difficulty in assessing pain in children and babies. The elderly on the other hand have age related changes in their nervous system which leads to poor pain management.

Measures to help these group:

A nurse needs to have expertise in pain assessment. Learning to identify different ways to assess pain and using different scales to assess pain in children will help in proper planning and intervening. For the elderly, you need to know about the pathophysiological changes occuring in the elderly through which you can identify means to reduce pain. Every client unique and respond pain in different ways. Identifying the patient related factors will help plan pain management measures appropriately.

Pain - Past experiences:

Clients who have have had mild to moderate pain and have overcome it easily with adequate pain management measures will perceive and respond to pain positively. Others who have had severe pain and were not given appropriate pain management measures will have fear, anxiety and a negative attitude towards pain.