The effect of a communicative - educative program on patient's satisfaction from pain management following cancer surgery

Research results regarding the effect of communicative educative programs on patients’ satisfaction from pain control are very limited and also controversial. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the effect of a comprehensive program consisting of communication and education on patients ‘satisfaction from pain management following cancer surgery. This clinical trial had a pre- post design with an intervention and control group which was conducted in Sayyed- Al-Shohada Hospital of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2011. 70 patients were selected based on the inclusion criteria and randomly allocated to either an intervention or control group. The intervention consisted of pre-operative education, post-operative communication and pain assessment. Data were collected using American Pain Society-patient outcome questionnaire, which measured patients’ satisfaction from pain management. Comparing patients’ satisfaction general mean differences and patients ‘satisfaction from nurses mean differences regarding pain control showed statistically significant differences between two groups (P<0.05). In other words, in the intervention group, the mean scores of patients’ satisfaction in general and patients’ satisfaction from nurses regarding pain control was significantly higher than the control group. Research findings show that the program consists of education and communication has a positive effect on cancer patients’ satisfaction in general and from nurses in specific regarding pain control. Therefore this program which is nearly easy to implement, cost–effective and safe can be used to effectively alleviate pain following cancer surgery.