What is palliative nursing care?
An approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual.
WHO, n.d.
Palliative care is not only available for patients with cancer, but also for patients with no possible recovery, such as patients with end-stage organ failure.
What is suffering in palliative care?
A multidimensional and dynamic experience of severe stress that occurs when there is a significant threat to the whole person and regulatory processes (which would normally enable adaptation) are insufficient.
Krikorian & Limonero, 2012
Promoting Quality of Life in Palliative Nursing Care
Palliative Nursing Care should aim to provide quality of life, which in other words refers to care in all aspects that palliative patients deem necessary for what they perceive quality of life to be. Such aspects include:
- emotional needs
- autonomy
- healthcare
- cognitive aspects
- physical aspects
- social aspects
- spiritual aspects
- preparatory aspects
A primary assessment aims to point out all current issues as well as potential ones. Palliative Nursing Care should include the following domains when it comes to patient assessment:
- symptoms
- function
- interpersonal
- well-being
- transcendent
These should be measured through assessment, satisfaction and importance…
Palliative Nursing Care Systematic Symptom Assessment
A systematic symptom assessment provides a deeper insight when compared to a primary assessment…
Symptomatic Pain Management
Symptomatic Pain Management needs to be applied through the nursing process:
- ASSESSMENT of the pain
- PLANNING pain management
- IMPLEMENTATION of medical and non-medical regimen
- EVALUATION of applied pain management and its effectiveness
Detailed information about the pain being experienced by the patient, such as location, intensity, quality, effect, and impact (even including the patient’s own descriptive words about experienced pain), leads to an accurate diagnosis and thus, better pain management strategies.
Pain can be classified as either Neuropathic Pain or Nociceptive Pain. Nociceptive Pain is a combination of Somatic Pain and Visceral Pain…
Medical Pain Management Strategies
(‘weak opioids’ include Codeine)
Non-Medical Pain Management Strategies
Non-medical pain management strategies may help in conjunction with medical pain management methods. Helpful methods may include:
- complementary therapy
- transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
- acupuncture
- music therapy
- hypnosis
- reflexology
- mind-body therapy
- art therapy
The Nurse’s Role in Pain Management
- pain assessment
- pain management
- evaluation
- palliative approach
- patient education
- support
- research
- patient inclusion in pain management choices through provision of information, enabling informed consent for intervention choices
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