Anne Dewar

Using nominal group technique to assess chronic pain, patients' perceived challenges and needs in a community health region

Purpose  The purpose of this study was to better understand the experiences of people suffering from chronic pain in order to plan client‐centred educational interventions.

Testing the effectiveness of a nursing intervention in relieving pain following day surgery

Abstract The purpose was to determine if a nursing intervention pre-operatively with post-operative follow up would improve levels of pain, and the extent of common symptoms such as nausea and constipation. Two hundred and twenty-two surgical day patients undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery, mammary reduction, hernia repair and anal surgery completed pain diaries post-operatively. Nurses telephoned the intervention group on post-operative days 1, 2 and 3 with advice and support. Results indicate that the telephone intervention decreased patients post-operative pain. Patients do not always understand oral or written information given at discharge and there is a need for specific follow-up advice and information.

Bearing illness and injury.

This qualitative study examined how individuals with catastrophic illness and injury managed their personal and social world. The 28 males and females had endured their chronic conditions from 3 to 25 years prior to the study. Participants were individually interviewed. Responses were analyzed using grounded theory methods. Individuals with catastrophic illness and injury experienced three phases in bearing their situation: finding out, facing reality, and managing reality. Individuals did not progress through stages as has been argued by stage theorists. Rather, the phases flowed together and were reexperienced continuously. Individuals employed three strategies—protecting, modifying, and boosting—in all of the phases to help them endure their circumstances.