Pain, Culture & Healthcare Professionals
Pain is an unrelenting fact of human life. Although nearly all people experience pain sensations similarly, there are vast differences in the expression of pain. Both personal and cultural meanings are important in the experience and treatment of pain. An appreciation of the influence of culture on communication about pain, affective response to pain, conditioning for pain, meaning of pain, and biological differences is important if patients are to be responded to effectively. Culture significantly affects both the assessment and management of people in pain.
Nursing, medical, and hospital cultures influence pain assessment, decision making, and care. An understanding of the impact of culture on the pain experience is crucial to effective care. There are individual and cultural differences in terms of pain management. Some patients may want constant pain medication, while others will stoically deny the need for any pain medication. The role of the health care provider is to help patients advocate for what feels appropriate for them within their cultural context. Understanding the patient may be difficult when patients are from different cultures and speak languages disparate from that of the health care provider. The responsible health care professional seeks out staff members, as well as family or friends with whom the dying patient can communicate. Patients should be allowed to freely express their questions and/or fears about their impending deaths even when such conversations are uncomfortable for the professional.
It is often best to anticipate a patient’s pain needs, since cultural or religious reasons may inhibit a patient from requesting pain medication even when it is medically necessary for recovery. Also, not every patient will share a desire for the least intrusive medication possible. When alternatives are available, it is best to check with the patient; which forms would he or she prefer?
(Anne Llewellyn; see link on Sources page)
Nursing, medical, and hospital cultures influence pain assessment, decision making, and care. An understanding of the impact of culture on the pain experience is crucial to effective care. There are individual and cultural differences in terms of pain management. Some patients may want constant pain medication, while others will stoically deny the need for any pain medication. The role of the health care provider is to help patients advocate for what feels appropriate for them within their cultural context. Understanding the patient may be difficult when patients are from different cultures and speak languages disparate from that of the health care provider. The responsible health care professional seeks out staff members, as well as family or friends with whom the dying patient can communicate. Patients should be allowed to freely express their questions and/or fears about their impending deaths even when such conversations are uncomfortable for the professional.
It is often best to anticipate a patient’s pain needs, since cultural or religious reasons may inhibit a patient from requesting pain medication even when it is medically necessary for recovery. Also, not every patient will share a desire for the least intrusive medication possible. When alternatives are available, it is best to check with the patient; which forms would he or she prefer?
(Anne Llewellyn; see link on Sources page)
Please click on the following links to read about pain in each culture: