Pain and the administration of analgesia: what nurses say

Pain of moderate to severe intensity continues to be an important problem f or many hospitalized patients, Nurses spend more time with patients than any, other health professional gr oup and have a key role to play in the management of patients' pain, This paper reports the findings from a series of focus group interviews whi ch were undertaken to explore nurses' perceptions regarding pain and the ad ministration of narcotic analgesia, Themes identified from participants' comments related to (1) the pivotal ro le of nurses in pain management; (2) nursing assessment and pain management decisions (3) individual factors influencing nurses' pain management decis ions and (4) the influence of others on nurses' pain management decisions. These findings have implications for further research and the development o f innovative educational strategies.