Pain in the emergency department: factors influencing assessment and documentation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37914/riis.v8i2.499Keywords:
pain measurement, electronic health records, nursing, hospital emergency serviceAbstract
Background: pain is a subjective and multidimensional experience frequently underestimated in emergency context, which may compromise the quality of care delivered. Objective: to identify the factors that influence pain assessment and documentation by nurses in an emergency department. Methodology: quantitative, descriptive, and cross-sectional study conducted between April and May 2024, with a sample of 64 nurses. Data were collected through an online questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: most participants reported having adequate knowledge regarding pain assessment and recognized the importance of continuous education. Work overload was identified as the main barrier to pain assessment and documentation (90.6%), followed by lack of knowledge and the absence of scales appropriate to the patient’s clinical condition. The most frequently scales were the Numeric Rating Scale, the Wong-Baker Faces Scale, and the Visual Analogue Scale. Discrepances were observed between nurses' perceptions and actual practice. Conclusion: continuous education, standardized scales, and the incorporation of instruments such as the Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia (PAINAD) scale into clinical systems are essential to improve pain management. The specialist nurse plays a crucial role in this process.
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