Nursing assessment of pain in cancer patients: a pilot study

Literature confirms the lack of any consistent approach by nurses to the assessment of cancer pain. This study represents an initial and limited experience on the application of pain documentation and pain assessment tools to improve cancer pain management. The study was based on research conducted by Faries et al. (1991) with modifications especially regarding the way of analyzing results. A group of 15 patients, all stratified by age, gender and type of pain, were randomly divided into a control and a treatment group. Patients in the control group had traditional nursing treatment whereas the treatment group was monitored by pain assessment ools: Pain Assessment Tool (PAT), Pain Flow Sheet (PFS) and the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). A simple evaluation method based on the Pearson correlation coefftcient was used to reveal the worsening or lightening of patient pain. Findings do not present any statistical value but support the usefulness of the correlation coefficient as an indicator of patient pain management throughout hospital stays and underline the importance of a rigorous scientific method of monitoring cancer-related pain by nurses. Eur. J. Oncol., 5 (l), 49-52,200O