Patients who are more satisfied with pain management report higher satisfaction with nurse responsiveness to care, nurse communication, and medication education, according to study findings. Patient perceptions of pain control significantly improved with higher numbers of registered nurses, nursing staff, and hospitalists, and worsened with higher numbers of residents or interns. Factors that attributed to poor pain control were patients not receiving help as soon as they wanted, poor nurse communication, poor medication education, and being cared for at a teaching hospital. On the other hand, higher numbers of nursing staff and nonprofit hospitals were associated with decreased likelihood that patients reported that their pain was poorly controlled.

Source: Pain Management Nursing (In Press).

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