College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

Summer 8-25-2019

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Karen Kapanke, DNP, CRNA

Second Advisor

Julia Feczko

Abstract

Pain is a serious concern and fear of patients. Due to the Joint Commission’s introduction of standards to address undertreatment of pain, it is now a focus of healthcare providers. Emerging research is focused on language in assessing pain. This study investigated the knowledge gap among anesthesia providers on positive language and pain assessment. The study objectives were to conduct a survey of Illinois Association of Nurse Anesthetists (IANA) members’ current knowledge and beliefs on Positive Language and the Nocebo Effect related to patient outcomes, and to educate anesthesia providers with an evidence-based fact sheet. The fact sheet and Qualtrics survey were created by the authors and distributed via email. Anonymity was maintained and consent was implied by completion of the survey. Data was analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics. Key findings included presence of a knowledge gap, increased scores after reading the fact sheet, and a difference in baseline knowledge between practice settings as evidenced by an H statistic of 10.457, df=2 and a p value of 0.005. This study is the first to report anesthesia providers’ knowledge toward Positive Language and the Nocebo Effect and may lead the way for the creation of a comfort scale.

SLP Collection

yes

Included in

Nursing Commons

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