A comparison between nurses' and patients' views on barriers to pain management

Context: Persistence of pain will be the cause of the disorder in the process of recovery, sleep, and reduced life quality of patients; therefore, pain management is important in this respect. 

Aims: This study aimed to compare the nurses’ and patients’ views about barriers to pain management. 

Settings and Design: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study was conducted in teaching hospitals affiliated to the Shoushtar Faculty of Medical Sciences in 2017.

 Materials and Methods: Thirty nurses from the surgery department were selected by the census method and 150 patients were selected in the quotas. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of two sections: demographic information and four areas of barriers (organization, nurse, patient, and physician). 

Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, Tukey’s test, and t-test using SPSS-16. 

Results: The mean age of the participants (31.3 ± 7.3) and the mean score of the pain management barrier questionnaire were obtained from the patients’ view (109.97 ± 16.65) and nurses’ view (106.88 ± 13.96). In the nurses’ group, there was a significant relationship between work experience and employment status with pain management barriers (P < 0.05). Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the nurses’ and patients’ view about the pain management barriers (P > 0.05). 

Conclusion: Due to the high percentage of patient-related barriers in the present study, it is essential to recognize these obstacles and to overcome them, and the importance of providing information to patients as part of the management of pain control is emphasized.