Principles of acute pain assessment
Michelle Briggs A Nursing Research and Development Practitioner, St James’s University Hospital NHS Trust, Leeds
Pain is a multidimensional and multifaceted phenomenon which is at the forefront of nursing assessment of patient needs. This review considers the various factors which influence and direct such assessments
The human experience of acute pain has many dimensions, and the resulting expression of pain is a complex interplay of these dimensions. The widely accepted gate control theory of pain (1) provided a conceptual framework for integrating these multidimensional responses. This theory recognises that we are not passive recipients of sensory information; rather, we search and select information relevant to our needs.
Nursing Standard.
9, 19, 23-27.
doi: 10.7748/ns.9.19.23.s46
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