– Our survey shows that although half of the patients themselves said they had moderate or severe pain, the tool showed only mild pain at most. This could lead to untreated pain for many patients dying from cancer, says thesis author Susie Tegenborg.
The investigated instrument, the Abbe Pain Scale, is one of three pain assessment instruments recommended in Sweden for patients who, for various reasons, cannot report their pain. The problem is that the available tools are designed to detect pain in patients with dementia, not in those with cancer.
– There is no assessment tool specifically for cancer patients. When we interviewed health care professionals about the tool, they indicated that certain parts of the tool did not adapt to how cancer patients physically express pain at the end of life, says Susi Tegenborg.
– If we succeed in producing a tool that works well, it will not only be able to help patients here in Sweden, but it will also potentially help cancer patients around the world.
On Wednesday 5 June, Susi Tejgenborg, Department of Diagnostics and Intervention at Umeå University, will defend her thesis entitled Pain or no pain? this is the question. Evaluation of the Abbey Pain Scale observational pain rating scale used in cancer patients. The defense takes place at 9:00 am at Bergasallen University Hospital, Norrland. The opponent is Professor Annette Alvarezza, Center for Palliative Research, Marie-Sedersjöld University.
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