Coping with the pain of elderly pain patients: Nursing approach
Burcu Babadağ1, Güler Balcı Alparslan1, Sacit Güleç2
1Department Of Nursing, Faculty Of Health Science, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey
2Department Of Anesthesiology And Reanimation, Head Of Algology, Faculty Of Medicine, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey
Keywords: Coping with pain, geriatric pain, nursing care, pain.
Abstract
Objectives: This study was planned as a guide for nurses in order to define the coping methods of elderly pain patients.
Methods: This descriptive survey was carried out on the geriatric patients (n=100) aged 60 and above in the inpatient Algol- ogy Unit of a University Hospital between November 28th, 2014 and January 28th, 2015. The data were collected using De- scriptive Characteristics Questionnaire which was prepared by scanning the literature and via one-on-one interviews by using Pain Coping Questionnaire (PCQ). The data were evaluated through descriptive statistical methods, Independent sample t test, One way Anova test and Pearson correlation test.
Results: The duration of the pain of the patients ranged from 1 month to 40 years, and the mean duration of pain was 63.57±82.65 months. The mean subscale scores of the patients received from PCQ were self-management (mean=19.22±6.54), helplessness (mean=13.45±3.86), conscious coping attempts (mean=11.90±3.97) and medical remedies (mean=12.62±3.98). The self-management scores (p<0.05) of the patients with the belief that they are able to control pain on their own, and the medical remedies scores (p<0.05) of the patients believing that pain control is in the nurses were significantly higher.
Conclusion: The ways for coping with the pain varies on geriatric patients and it is recommended that these variations and differences are taken into account in nursing interventions.