Patient-Centered Pain Management Communication from the Patient Perspective.

Haverfield MC, Giannitrapani K, Timko C, Lorenz K. Patient-Centered Pain Management Communication from the Patient Perspective. Journal of general internal medicine. 2018 Aug 1; 33(8):1374-1380.

Related HSR&D Project(s)

• CRE 12-030 – Effective Screening for Pain Study

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions

Search for Abstract from PubMed

---

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Pain management discussions between patient and provider can be stressful to navigate and greatly impact the care received. Because of the complexity, emotional color, and sensitivity of pain management, such discussions require a high degree of skill. OBJECTIVE: To identify patients' perspectives of patient-centered care communication within the context of pain management discussions. DESIGN: We conducted semi-structured interviews (25-65 min) with patients regarding their experiences with pain assessment and management. PARTICIPANTS: 36 patients (29 males, 7 females), from 3 Veteran Affairs healthcare locations. Participant age ranged from 28 to 94 with pain intensity ranging from 0 to 10, based on the "pain now" numeric rating scale report gathered at the time of the interview. APPROACH: Interview transcript analysis was conducted using the constant comparison method to produce mutually agreed upon themes. KEY RESULTS: Elements of patient-centered care communication described by participants include judgment, openness, listening, trust, preferences, solution-oriented, customization, and longevity. Patients perceive provider reciprocation in openness and trust as drivers of the patient-provider relationship, thereby enhancing positive, associated themes. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the importance of the patient-provider relationship in patient-centered care and offer patient-centered care communication tools for practitioners to utilize, such as solution-oriented messages and communicating trust, especially when interacting with patients about pain.