An intervention assisting older adults to communicate their pain was tested in a posttest-only experiment. Thirty-eight preoperative older adults were randomly assigned to a communication group watching a videotape about communicating and managing postoperative pain or a comparison group watching a videotape about managing postoperative pain only. Pain was measured on Postoperative Days 1 and 2, and 1 and 7 days after hospital discharge by a data collector blind to the condition. The communication group reported greater pain relief and less pain interference on Postoperative Day 1. The comparison group reported greater pain relief on Postoperative Day 2 after attaining a pain interference level similar to the pain communication group. The pain communication intervention had modest effects for reducing pain interference with activities on Postoperative Day 1. Greater pain relief might be achieved when older adults and their health care providers are more knowledgeable about both pain communication and pain management.
Acute Pain Management Guideline Panel. (1992). Acute pain management: Operative or medical procedures and trauma. Clinical practice guideline(AHCPR Pub No. 92-0032). Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Public Health Service.
2.
Bardiau, F., Taviaux, N., Albert, A., Boogaerts, J., & Stadler, M. (2003). An intervention study to enhance postoperative pain management. Anesthesia and Analgesia, 96, 179-185.
3.
Brown, S., Bowman, J., & Eason, F. (1999). Assessment of nurses' attitudes and knowledge regarding pain management. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 30, 132-139.
4.
Cook, T., & Campbell, D. (1979). Quasi-experimental design and analysis issues for field settings. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.
5.
Coupland, N., Coupland, J., Giles, H., & Henwood, K. (1988). Accommodating the elderly: Invoking and extending a theory. Language in Society, 17, 1-41.
6.
Dahl, J., Gordon, D., Ward, S., Skemp, M., Wochos, S., & Schurr, M. (2003). Institutionalizing pain management: The post-operative pain management quality improvement project. Journal of Pain, 4, 361-371.
7.
Dahl, J., Rosenberg, J., Hansen, B., Hjortso, N., & Kehlet, H. (1992). Differential analgesia: Effects of low-dose epidural morphine and morphinebupivacaine at rest and during mobilization after major abdominal surgery. Anesthesia & Analgesia, 74, 362-365.
8.
Daut, R., Cleeland, C., & Flanery, R. (1983). Development of the Wisconsin Brief Pain Questionnaire to assess pain in cancer and other diseases. Pain, 17, 197-210.
9.
Davis, G., Hiemenz, M., & White, T. (2002). Barriers to managing chronic pain of older adults with arthritis. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 34, 21-126.
10.
de Rond, M., de Wit, R., & van Dam, F. (2001). The implementation of a pain monitoring programme for nurses in daily clinical practice: Results of a follow-up study in five hospitals. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 35, 590-598.
11.
de Rond, M., de Wit, R., van Dam, F., & Muller, M. (2000). A pain monitoring program for nurses: Effects on communication, assessment and documentation of patients' pain. Journal of Pain & Symptom Management, 20, 424-439.
12.
Dufault, M., Bielecki, C., Collins, E., & Willey, C. (1995). Changing nurses' pain assessment practice: A collaborative research utilization approach. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 21, 634-645.
13.
Duncan, K., & Pozehl, B. (2000). Effects of performance feedback on patient pain outcomes. Clinical Nursing Research, 9, 379-397.
14.
Ferrell, B, Rhiner, M., & Ferrell, B. (1993). Development and implementation of a pain education program. Cancer, 72, 3426-3432.
15.
Flory, D., Fankhauser, R., & McShane, M. (2001). Postoperative pain control in total joint arthroplasty: A prospective, randomized study of a fixed-dose, around-the-clock, oral regimen. Orthopedics, 24, 243-246.
16.
Fox, S., & Giles, H. (1993). Accommodating intergenerational contact: A critique and theoretical model. Journal of Aging Studies, 7, 423-451.
17.
Giles, H. (1973). Accent mobility: A model and some data. Anthropological Linguistics, 15, 87-105.
18.
Glajchen, M., & Bookbinder, M. (2001). Knowledge and perceived competence of home care nurses in pain management: A national survey. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 21, 307-316.
19.
Lawson, M. (2002). Nurse practitioner and physician communication styles. Applied Nursing Research, 15, 60-66.
20.
MacDonald, V., & Hilton, B. (2001). Postoperative pain management in frail older adults. Orthopaedic Nursing, 20(3), 63-76.
21.
McDonald, D., Freeland, M., Thomas, G., & Moore, J. (2001). Testing a preoperative pain management intervention for older adults. Research in Nursing & Health, 24, 402-409.
22.
McDonald, D., McNulty, J., Erickson, K., & Weiskopf, C. (2000). Communicating pain and pain management needs after surgery. Applied Nursing Research, 13(2),70-75.
23.
McDonald, D., & Molony, S. (in press). Postoperative pain communication skills for older adults. Western Journal of Nursing Research.
24.
Moher, D., Schulz, K., & Altman, D. (2001). Revised recommendations for improving the quality of reports of parallel group randomized trials 2001. Retrieved July 6, 2004, from http://www.consort-statement.org/statement/revisedstatement.htm
25.
Neelon, V., Champagne, M., Carlson, J., & Funk, S. (1996). The NEECHAM Confusion Scale: Construction, validation, and clinical testing. Nursing Research, 45, 324-330.
26.
Neelon, V., Champagne, M., McConnell, E., Carlson, J., & Funk, S. (1992). Use of the NEECHAM Confusion Scale to assess acute confusional states of hospitalized, older patients. In S. Funk, E. Tornquist, M. Champagne, & R. Wiese (Eds.), Key aspects of elder care: Managing falls, incontinence, and cognitive impairment(pp. 278-289). New York: Springer.
27.
Oliver, J., Kravitz, R., Kaplan, S., & Meyers, F. (2001). Individualized patient education and coaching to improve pain control among cancer outpatients. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 19, 2206-2012.
28.
Puls-McColl, P., Holden, J., & Buschmann, M. (2001). Pain management: An assessment of surgical nurses' knowledge. MedSurg Nursing, 10, 185-185.
29.
Rogers, M., & Todd, C. (2000). The “right kind” of pain: Talking about symptoms in outpatient oncology consultations. Palliative Medicine, 14, 299-307.
30.
Rosenthal, R. (1966). Experimenter effects in behavioral research. New York: Appleton Century Crofts.
31.
Sandie, C., & Heindel, L. (1999). The knowledge and attitudes of nonanesthesia nurses regarding postoperative epidural analgesia. American Association of Nurse Anesthetists Journal, 67, 455-460.
32.
Sherwood, G., Adams-McNeill, J., Starck, P., Nieto, B., & Thompson, C. (2000). Qualitative assessment of hospitalized patients' satisfaction with pain management. Research in Nursing & Health, 23, 486-495.
33.
Van Niekerk, L., & Martin, F. (2001). Tasmanian nurses' knowledge of pain management. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 38, 141-152.
34.
White, C. (1999). Changing pain management practice and impacting on patient outcomes. Clinical Nurse Specialist, 13, 166-172.
35.
Zalon, M. (1997). Pain in frail, elderly women after surgery. Image: Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 29, 21-26.
36.
Zalon, M. (1999). Comparison of pain measures in surgical patients. Journal of Nursing Measurement, 7, 135-152.
