Communicating pain and pain management needs after surgery

This descriptive study explored how patients communicate their pain and pai n management needs after surgery. Thirty postoperative patients were interv iewed. The majority described avoiding or delaying communicating their pain at some point during their hospitalization. Reasons for decreased pain com munication included not wanting to complain: not wanting to take the provid er away from other patients; avoiding unpleasant analgesic side effects; an d not wanting to take "drugs." Postoperative patients may be unclear about their role in pain management. Pain management communication problems ident ified in this study could be used to design intervention studies to improve pain communication and consequent pain relief. Copyright (C) 2000 by W.B. Saunders Company.