"Whose Pain Is It Anyway?": Designing a Patient Held Pain Diary

Abstract

This paper describes a pain diary I would like to implement in the acute care setting of a large tertiary centre. Patient education has been identified within the Area Health Board strategic plan as an important aspect of their care and I believe the diary I propose provides a vital educational tool for patients with palliative needs. Unrelieved pain has wide ranging effects on patients, their families (whanau), health services and the economy. Pain management must therefore be a priority in the care of palliative care patients in both the acute setting and our community. Patients are remaining in hospital longer as a result of poor pain management, having more unnecessary readmissions resulting in higher costs, negative patient outcomes and psychological distress. I will support my discussion with literature that I have reviewed focusing on articles from 1998 to the present time from journals that are respected within the field of palliative care and they will be from both a medical and nursing focus as I believe it is important to be cognisant of literature from both these disciplines. I will present fictionalised narratives to provide evidence of the personal consequences of poor pain management and suggest alternative outcomes when education is available for the patient and family. This may help answer the question which provoked the title of this document which is: "Whose pain is it anyway?"