Sjuksköterskors attityd till smärtbedömning

: En litteratustudie som belyser sjuksköterskors genomförande, inställning och bakomliggande faktorer

Abstract

Pain is a widespread health care problem and one of the most common reasons why people seek out health care. Many patients suffer from undertreated pain which often can be related to the lack of pain assessment. Nurses have an important role in pain assessment in which their attitudes can be a decisive factor in whether the patient receives an adequate pain assessment. The purpose of the literature study was to illustrate nurses' attitudes towards pain assessment in hospitals. A systematic content analysis of fourteen scientific articles was conducted. The materials was sorted according to a definition of attitude and resulted in three main categories: nurses’ implementation in pain assessment, nurses’ outlook towards pain assessment and underlying factors that affect nurses’ pain assessment. The result showed that nurses often combined communication and observation in pain assessment. The majority of nurses were found to have a positive attitude towards pain assessment. However, the result also shows that nurses relied more on their previous health care experience than on the patient’s experience of pain. In order to achieve optimal pain relief for the individual patient nurses should to be encouraged to integrate pain assessment into their daily routines.