Pain-management strategies among hospitalized trauma patients: a preliminary study in a teaching hospital in Indonesia

Abstract

The incidence of trauma has been high and is considered to have increased throughout the years. This study aimed to describe the pain intensity and pain-management strategies of hospitalized trauma patients. Ninety-five adults presenting trauma with full consciousness, and who were admitted to surgical wards were recruited. Outcomes were assessed in a 3-day follow-up of pain and pain management from January to February 2016 by using questionnaires for interviews. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and repeated measures ANOVA. Preliminary research found that hospitalized trauma patients perceived mild to severe pain intensity. The trend of pain at its worst, pain at its least, average pain, and current pain decreased from Day 1 to day 3, which were statistically and significantly different (p < .001). The pain management often used by patients were: praying (84.2%), slow and deep breathing (78.9%), and at an attempt at toleration (46.3%). The least frequent method of pain management included immediately informing nurses about the pain (15.8%), reading (15.8%), and changing position (17.9%). Besides the pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions received from physicians and nurses, strategies were crucial to alleviating pain in hospitalized trauma patients related to cultural context.