Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Enhancing Chronic Pain Management Motivational Interview Among Lower Back Pain Patients, Melissa L. Hines-Antico

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Purpose: Untreated chronic pain is a nationwide epidemic affect individual physically, psychologically, and financially. Low back pain is the most common subset of chronic pain. Restricted clinic time and a focus on procedural/prescriptive methods for managing pain prohibits patient education regarding self-care, and formation of a relationship with the provider.

Design: Article review yielded 20 articles that supported the use of motivational interviewing for chronic pain in lower back pain patients. They were evaluated for their strength of evidence on a scale of 1-6. One article was ranked level I as a meta-analysis, and six were ranked as level II …

Remifentanil Patient Controlled Analgesia Use In Laboring Women: A Feasibility Pilot Project, Joshua Aaron Carr

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Labor pain is a significant source of anxiety for most pregnant women. Parturients who are excluded from epidural analgesia (EA), the most common and most effective technique to reduce this pain, deserve access to the next best choice. Remifentanil patient controlled analgesia (RPCA), due to its fast onset, short half-life and demonstrated effect at reducing pain and boosting satisfaction is the next best option when compared to EA. Adoption of this strategy represents an opportunity to help bring this evidence based technique into a mainstream health system. This project reports on the first stage of a pilot project to bring …

Pilot Implementation Of A Comprehensive Pain Assessment In An Oncology Clinic, Lauren Botta

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Purpose/Aims: This project implemented an algorithmic approach to assess pain, functionality, and psychosocial states in newly diagnosed cancer patients. This was accomplished through utilization of a validated pain assessment tool. The tool’s purpose was to identify high-risk patients for Emergency Department (ED) visits or unanticipated hospital admissions (UHA), within a second-year fellow Hematology/Oncology clinic.

Primary aims included: (a) aggregating demographic data to determine the profile of a high-risk patient seen within this clinic, (b) determining those referred to and who followed up with symptom specialists or the ED, and (c) identifying barriers for the next iteration of the project. …

Lived Experience After Surgery Among Hispanic Adults, Kimberly Sanchez

Dissertations

Background: In 2010, more than 51.4 million procedures were performed in hospitals in the United States. Almost half of all patients had a surgical procedure prior to their hospital discharge and over 80% of patients experienced acute pain after surgery. When acute pain persists for two or more months after surgery, chronic pain develops, costing the United States up to $635 billion annually. Hispanics, in particular, disproportionately experience disparities in pain treatment as they are less likely to receive analgesics. Routine pain assessments conducted using instruments may be inaccurately capturing the pain experience of Hispanic adults. No research has …