Title of Research
Start Date
23-8-2019 9:30 AM
End Date
23-8-2019 11:30 AM
Abstract
Background: Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) cannot be cared for in the same way that typically developed individuals are cared for, especially when it comes to pain assessment. Self-report is currently the gold standard for pain assessment, making it difficult for nurses to manage the pain of individuals who cannot self-report. Techniques and strategies must be altered to provide effective care for developmentally impaired individuals to ensure their pain is not left untreated.
Objectives: To examine current methods of pain assessment for clients with cognitive and developmental disabilities in the hospital setting. This will help determine promising methods of pain assessment that nurses can conduct for individuals who cannot self-report pain.
Methods: This integrative literature review was conducted using the keywords “pain assessment”, “pain measurement”, and “developmental disabilities”. Articles included were all in English, peer reviewed and a full-text version was available on either the DePaul University database system or the Rosalind Franklin University database system. The databases used for this literature search were the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsychInfo, and PubMed databases.
Results: After reviewing 15 articles for this study, three techniques were identified as useful to accurately assess pain in individuals with IDD: (1) caregiver reports, (2) behavioral pain checklists/assessment tools and pain scales, (3) a clinical pain nurse expert [also called a pain resource nurse]. These findings provide important implications for clinical practice.
Conclusions:This literature review identified techniques for effective pain assessment in individuals with developmental disabilities, so their pain no longer goes unnoticed and undertreated. Those techniques include the use of caregiver and proxy reports, the use of pain assessment tools and scales, and the addition of pain nurse experts to hospital staff. These strategies for pain measurement, used separately or in concert, have the potential to reduce the presence of severe pain in individuals with IDD.
Key words: pain assessment, pain measurement and developmental disabilities
Included in
Effective Pain Assessment Conducted by Nursing for Developmentally Disabled Clients: An Integrative Literature Review
Background: Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) cannot be cared for in the same way that typically developed individuals are cared for, especially when it comes to pain assessment. Self-report is currently the gold standard for pain assessment, making it difficult for nurses to manage the pain of individuals who cannot self-report. Techniques and strategies must be altered to provide effective care for developmentally impaired individuals to ensure their pain is not left untreated.
Objectives: To examine current methods of pain assessment for clients with cognitive and developmental disabilities in the hospital setting. This will help determine promising methods of pain assessment that nurses can conduct for individuals who cannot self-report pain.
Methods: This integrative literature review was conducted using the keywords “pain assessment”, “pain measurement”, and “developmental disabilities”. Articles included were all in English, peer reviewed and a full-text version was available on either the DePaul University database system or the Rosalind Franklin University database system. The databases used for this literature search were the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsychInfo, and PubMed databases.
Results: After reviewing 15 articles for this study, three techniques were identified as useful to accurately assess pain in individuals with IDD: (1) caregiver reports, (2) behavioral pain checklists/assessment tools and pain scales, (3) a clinical pain nurse expert [also called a pain resource nurse]. These findings provide important implications for clinical practice.
Conclusions:This literature review identified techniques for effective pain assessment in individuals with developmental disabilities, so their pain no longer goes unnoticed and undertreated. Those techniques include the use of caregiver and proxy reports, the use of pain assessment tools and scales, and the addition of pain nurse experts to hospital staff. These strategies for pain measurement, used separately or in concert, have the potential to reduce the presence of severe pain in individuals with IDD.
Key words: pain assessment, pain measurement and developmental disabilities