The Importance Of Pain Management During Palliative Care Nursing Essay
Palliative care for end of life patients has many aspects, but management of moderate to severe pain is perhaps of the most concern for patients, family members and care providers. In order to provide comprehensive pain control, pain and related symptoms must be accurately assessed by nurses, and pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic measures must be appropriately implemented. Health care professionals must also be aware of potential barriers to pain treatment and how to address such barriers in order to provide the most individualized and effective care possible.
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Pain is a subjective and unique experience that varies not only from person to person but according to cause and circumstance as well. Pain can stem from damage to skin, muscles, organs and bones; it can have emotional and psychological triggers. It is natural to expect that because pain can have a wide variety of origins and interpretations, the treatment of pain needs to be as individual as the experience. This is of particular importance during end of life care. Providing palliative care (comfort measure to ease pain, relieve undesirable symptoms and provide emotional support) has immeasurable benefits for the dying and their loved ones. It is important to acknowledge the merits of pain management during palliative care, as well as the potential barriers to providing adequate pain relief, in order for medical professionals to provide the best and most individualized care for their patients.
The World Health Organization lists the following as just some of the aspects of palliative care: it provides relief from pain and other stressful symptoms; it supports dying as a normal process; it integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of care; it provides patients a way to live as actively as possible until death; it offers support for family members to help with coping during the patient’s illness and through their own bereavement process (World Health Organization, 2013). There are many facets to providing comprehensive palliative care, and effectively relieving pain can be one of the most important and challenging for health professionals.
According to Creedon and O’Regan (2010), “Pain occurs in up to 75% of patients with advanced cancer, and 65% of patients dying from other causes (Faull et al, 2005). Managing complex pain at the end of life is therefore an essential aspect of palliative care” (p. 260). Pain experienced by patients with terminal illness is not usually minor in nature; it can be intense and unbearable. Over 33% of cancer patients experience some kind of pain at a moderate or severe level (Reeves, 2008). “Pain is a significant source of anxiety and distress, and perhaps the most debilitating symptom that is feared the most by cancer patients at the end of life, and requiring expert palliative care (Creedon & O’Regan, 2010, p. 257).” Not only do many end of life patients experience moderate to severe pain, but they can experience fluctuations in their pain and breakthrough pain as well.
Burton and Zeppetella (2011) describe breakthrough pain as, “a transient exacerbation of pain that occurs either spontaneously or in relation to a specific predictable or unpredictable trig…………………………………
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