Knowledge of health professionals about pain and analgesia

• Autor(a) principal: Ribeiro,Maria do Carmo de Oliveira
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Costa,Ilara da Nóbrega, Ribeiro,Caíque Jordan Nunes, Nunes,Mariangela da Silva, Santos,Bruno, DeSantana,Josimari Melo
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista Dor
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1806-00132015000300204
• topic: Analgesia; Health; Knowledge; Pain; Pain measurement

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Pain relief is a basic human right and an ethical issue involving all health professionals. This study aimed at describing what professionals of a multidisciplinary hospital team know about pain and analgesia. METHODS: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study with quantitative approach, carried out at the Teaching Hospital of the Federal University of Sergipe. Sample was made up of 33 physicians, 26 nurses, 10 physiotherapists, 8 pharmacists and 5 psychologists. Data collection tool was a self-applied questionnaire encompassing knowledge about definitions and types of pain, evaluation and measurement, pharmacological and non-pharmacological management, and professional qualification in pain. Data were analyzed by simple descriptive statistics and are presented as tables. RESULTS: Participants of the study were predominantly females (72.0%), young adults (40.2%), with residence as maximum qualification (53.7%). Pain was considered discomfort/unpleasant sensation (46.3%) and chronic pain was defined as a symptom 48.8%). Only one professional reported using multimodal treatment for pain relief. Most professionals stated having acquired knowledge about pain and analgesia after graduation (79.3%) and that they feel the need for specific qualification (70.7%). CONCLUSION: This study has provided a situational diagnosis of the knowledge of the multiprofessional team of the hospital, showing that there is inconsistency between participants’ theoretical basis and their role in handling pain and humanizing assistance.