Assessing the Use of Nurse-Led Guided Imagery on Patient Pain and Anxiety During Complex Procedures
Disciplines
Nursing
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Patients with complex and/or chronic wounds undergo numerous procedures such as dressing changes. Nurses routinely perform this care in hospital settings like Burn ICUs. These procedures are often painful and may provoke stress and anticipatory anxiety for the patient. Analgesic drugs are commonly used to reduce pain in these situations, but pharmacological pain management carries risks such as overuse, reduced efficacy due to tolerance and potential drug dependence. Current literature offers examples of non-pharmacological pain management interventions successfully utilized to positively impact patients’ perception of pain during difficult procedures. These have included hypnosis, scripted and recorded guided imagery available on demand prior to procedures, and virtual reality distractions. However, the impact of live guided imagery led by nurses while providing wound care is not well documented. The purpose of this research is to measure effectiveness of live nurse-led guided imagery on reducing perceived pain during complex procedures and anxiety prior to subsequent procedures. Registered nurses on a specialty Burn ICU will be trained on a guided-imagery script. Patients will be randomly assigned to treatment and control groups over three months, with the experimental group receiving all standard protocol therapies including pharmacological interventions during treatments. Patient-reported data on pain perception pre- and post-procedure will be collected using numerical rating surveys. Patient-reported anxiety prior to subsequent procedures will be collected using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Conclusions will include analysis of patient responses from both groups to determine therapeutic effect of nurse-led guided imagery during wound dressing changes and other difficult procedures. Results can be used to assess the validity of continuing to employ and improve this practice as a pain-management resource. If found to be valuable, this technique may form part of acceptable clinical continuing education for nurses and allied practitioners.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
Wellstar College of Health and Human Services
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Sena Able
Assessing the Use of Nurse-Led Guided Imagery on Patient Pain and Anxiety During Complex Procedures
Patients with complex and/or chronic wounds undergo numerous procedures such as dressing changes. Nurses routinely perform this care in hospital settings like Burn ICUs. These procedures are often painful and may provoke stress and anticipatory anxiety for the patient. Analgesic drugs are commonly used to reduce pain in these situations, but pharmacological pain management carries risks such as overuse, reduced efficacy due to tolerance and potential drug dependence. Current literature offers examples of non-pharmacological pain management interventions successfully utilized to positively impact patients’ perception of pain during difficult procedures. These have included hypnosis, scripted and recorded guided imagery available on demand prior to procedures, and virtual reality distractions. However, the impact of live guided imagery led by nurses while providing wound care is not well documented. The purpose of this research is to measure effectiveness of live nurse-led guided imagery on reducing perceived pain during complex procedures and anxiety prior to subsequent procedures. Registered nurses on a specialty Burn ICU will be trained on a guided-imagery script. Patients will be randomly assigned to treatment and control groups over three months, with the experimental group receiving all standard protocol therapies including pharmacological interventions during treatments. Patient-reported data on pain perception pre- and post-procedure will be collected using numerical rating surveys. Patient-reported anxiety prior to subsequent procedures will be collected using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Conclusions will include analysis of patient responses from both groups to determine therapeutic effect of nurse-led guided imagery during wound dressing changes and other difficult procedures. Results can be used to assess the validity of continuing to employ and improve this practice as a pain-management resource. If found to be valuable, this technique may form part of acceptable clinical continuing education for nurses and allied practitioners.