Decision-making in pain management in palliative care: integrative review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37914/riis.v9.501Keywords:
nurses, decision making, pain management, palliative careAbstract
Background: pain is one of the most prevalent and debilitating symptoms in palliative care. Decision-making by healthcare professionals, including nurses, plays a crucial role in the quality of care provided and in relieving the suffering of individuals at the end of life. Objective: to identify factors that influence decision-making by healthcare professionals, including nurses, in the management of pain in palliative care. Methodology: integrative literature review, following an integrative approach as outlined in the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis (2024). The search was performed in the MEDLINE Complete (EBSCO) database, between January 2013 to March 2023, using the PI(c)O strategy. 212 studies were identified; six met the inclusion criteria. Study selection and data extraction were conducted independently by two reviewers. The review has methodological limitations, including the use of a single database and the absence of a critical assessment of the quality of the included studies, which requires cautious interpretation of the results. Results: The factors identified are complex and multifactorial, grouped into two domains: intrinsic (knowledge, experience, autonomy, personality) and extrinsic (available resources, institutional protocols, organizational culture). Conclusion: decision-making in pain management is a complex and multidimensional process that requires knowledge, clinical experience, and adequate organizational conditions.
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