The status quo and influencing factors of pain assessment by nurses in intensive care units of Class III hospitals

Abstract

Objective To explore the status quo of pain assessment by the nurses in intensive care units (ICU) of Class Ⅲ hospitals, to analyze the factors influencing the implementation of pain assessment by ICU nurses, and to provide evidence for improving the practice of pain assessment by ICU nurses. Methods Totally 410 ICU nurses from 11 ClassⅢ hospitals in Hu'nan, Guangdong, Beijing and Hebei were selected by convenient sampling and investigated with the self-designed pain assessment questionnaire between April and July 2017. SPSS 21.0 was used to conduct the statistical analysis of the data. Results The implementation rate of pain assessment by ICU nurses was 77.6%. The application of subjective pain assessment tools was consistent mainly with the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) (74.2%) , while objective assessment tools were less used, including the Critical Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT) (40.6%) and Behavioral Pain Scale (BPS) (29.9%) . The standard rate of the use of pain assessment tools in ICU was 81.8%. The type of ICU and the frequency of continuing education in pain among ICU nurses were the factors that affected pain assessment by ICU nurses. Conclusions ICU nurses have not standardized their pain assessment, applied less objective pain assessment tools, and lacked norms for pain assessment in ICU. It is suggested that hospitals and departments should formulate relevant pain management rules and regulations, strengthen the continuous professional education for ICU nurses, and standardize and promote the clinical pain assessment of ICU nurses so as to improve the quality of pain care in ICU. Key words: Nurses; Intensive care unit; Pain; Assessment; Status quo; Influencing factors