Nursing guidelines and multidisciplinary approach of chronic pain

Abstract

Worldwide, chronic pain supposed a global burden condition with high associated morbidity and disability (1) . Nurses were considered as one of the healthcare providers in common face-to-face contact with patients who suffered from chronic pain. Thus, pharmacologic management of chronic pain may be facilitated by nurse practitioners in conjunction with the medical staff avoiding prescription barriers and emphasizing interprofessional collaboration and patient education. These guidelines to identify facilitators and barriers for chronic pain management by nurse practitioners could improve chronic pain interventions by nursing management in the healthcare system (2) .Chronic pain may be defined as recurrent or persistent soreness for more than 3 months which represented a key healthcare problem affecting up to 19% of the European population and 20% of the American population. This condition implicated not only a temporal extension of acute pain, due to it comprised physiological nociception mechanism as well as pathogenetical and physical alterations, such as central sensitization linked to altered modulation of pain disorders, activation of glial cells and modified processing of neuroimmune signaling. This chronic process may be also influenced by different social and psychological factors, including pain catastrophizing, depression, fear avoidance behaviors, somatization processes, as well as different cultural attitudes. Indeed, a biopsychosocial approach of patients who suffered from chronic pain should include new strategies for prevention, evaluation and management. Chronic pain was used as an umbrella term including a wide range of clinical alterations, such as migraine, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue or long musculoskeletal pain disorders without a specific cause. Therefore, biopsychosocial factors linked to chronic pain disorders played a key role in the maintenance and chronification of these disorders. The implementation of new educational strategies for healthcare providers and patients suffering from chronic pain about biopsychosocial approach assessment, prevention and care should be prioritized (3) .Chronic pain conditions, such as fibromyalgia, involved physical and psychological factors which should be considered during nursing policy, research, practice, management and education (4) . Chronic conditions, being pain considered as one of the key focus, were presented as one of the most relevant priorities for nursing guidelines especially in primary health care because nurse practitioners were first-line healthcare providers with face-to-face contact with patients who suffered from chronic pain. Multidisciplinary interventions were How to cite this articleCalvo-Lobo C. Nursing guidelines and multidisciplinary approach of chronic pain. Rev. Latino-Am. Enfermagem.