Individualizing Care for Clients with Pain

1. Establish a trusting relationship. Convey your concern, and acknowledge that you believe that the client experiencing pain. A trusting relationship promotes ekspression of the clint's thoughts and feeling and enhances effectiveness of planned pain therapies.
2. Consider the client's ability and willingness to participate actively in pain relief measures. Some client who are excessively fatigued, are sedated, or have altered levels of consciousness are less able to participate actively. For example, a client with an altered level of consciousness or altered thought processes may not be able to deal with patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). In contrast, a fatigued client may express a willingness to use pain-relief measures that require little effort, such as listening to music or performing relaxation techniques.
3. Use a variety of pain relief measures. It is thought that using more than one measure has an additive effect in relieving pain. Two measures that should always be part of any pain may vary throughout a 24-hour period, different types of pain relief are often indicated during that time.
4. Provide measures to relieve pain before it become severe. For example, providing an analgesic before the onset of pain is preferable to waiting for the client to complain of pain, when a large dose may be required.
5. Use pain-relieving measures that the client believes are effective. it has been recognezed that clients are usually the authorities about their own pain. Thus, in corporating the client's measures into a pain relief plan is sensible unless they are harmfull.
6. Base the choice of the pain relief measure on the client's report of the severity of the pain. If a client reports mild pain, an analgesic such as aspirin may be indicated, whereas a client who reports severe pain often requires a more potent relief measure.
7. If pain relief measure is ineffective, encourage the client to try it one or twice more before abandoning it. Anxiety may diminish tehe effects of a pain measure, and some approaches, such as distraction strategies, require practice before they are effective.
8. Maintain an unbiased attitude (open mind) about what may relieve the pain. New ways to relieve pain are being continually developed. It is not always possible to explain pain relief measures; however, measures should be supported unless they are harmful.
9. Keep trying. Do not ignore a clinet because pain persist in spite of measures. In these circumstances, reassess the pain, and consider other relief measures.
10. Prevent harm to the client. Pain therapy should not increase discomfort ar harm the client. Some pain relief measures may have outward effects, such as fatigue, but they should not disable the client.
11. Educate the client and support persons abaout pain. Clients and support persons need to be informed about possible causes of pain, precipitating and alleviating factors, and alternatives to drug therapy. Misconceptions also need to be corrected.