Ask probing questions to better understand pain.
Many common pain assessment tools miss the mark when you're caring for patients with unfamiliar cultural backgrounds. In these situations, a pain interview can yield more accurate results. Try these pain interview formats to see if you are able to gain a better understanding of your patient's pain.
Kleinman's Approach
Note: These questions are based on Kleinman's original questions for describing illness, modifying them to be useful for describing pain. Kleinman, A., Eisenberg, L., & Good, B. (1978). Culture, illness, and care: Clinical lessons from anthropologic and cross-cultural research. Annals of Internal Medicine, 88(2), 251-258.
ABCDE and PQRST Mnemonics
Ask about pain regularly; assess pain systematically.
Believe the patient and family in their reports of pain.
Choose pain control options appropriate for the patient, family, and setting.
Deliver interventions in a timely, logical, and coordinated fashion.
Empower patients and their families.
Palliative/provocative factors: What makes the pain better or worse?
Quality: Describe the pain.
Radiation: Where is the pain?
Severity: Compare this pain to other pain.
Temporal factors: Does the intensity of the pain change with time?
