Bakgrund: Palliativ vård syftar bland annat till att lindra lidande och symtom som smärta och ångest. För att kunna bedöma, utvärdera samt lindra symtomen behövs smärtskattningsinstument användas. Att lindra dessa symtom främjar livskvaliteten hos patienter i en palliativ fas. Genom det Svenska palliativregistret finns möjlighet att sammanställa och utvärdera information som kan främja forskning och därmed bidra till ett minskat lidande. Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka förekomst av smärta och smärtlindring i livets slutskede samt se i vilken utsträckning validerade instrument används. Syftet är också att undersöka om det finns någon skillnad mellan smärta och olika bakgrundsvariabler. Metod: Denna studie är en deskriptiv studie av kvantitativ design och är utformad med hjälp av retrospektiv registerdata. Datan insamlades genom det Svenska palliativregistrets dödsfallsenkät. 1435 patienter inkluderades som hade vårdats på olika palliativa vårdformer inom Uppsala och Enköping.   Resultat: Resultatet visar att smärtskattningsinstrument används i en bristande utsträckning inom den palliativa vården, då endast 56 % utav de som hade smärta också smärtskattades. När det gäller smärtlindring så blev 69 % utav patienterna helt och 30 % delvis smärtlindrade. Vid analysen utav samband mellan smärtlindring och vissa dödsplatser så visade resultatet att det fanns en signifikant skillnad. Samma resultat framkom även gällande analysen utav samband mellan vissa grundsjukdomar och upplevelsen utav smärta. Upplevelsen utav smärta samtidigt som upplevd ångest visade sig ha ett samband. Slutsats: Detta område är relativt outforskat, vilket gör att mer forskning behövs. Resultatet från denna studie kan användas som ett underlag för framtida forskning. / Background: Palliative care is intended to alleviate suffering such as pain and anxiety. By using pain measurements instruments these symptoms can be assessed, evaluated and alleviated. The patients life quality is promoted by alleviating these symptoms. Through the Swedish Register of palliative care there is a possibility to compile and evaluate information that can promote research and thereby contribute to a reduced suffering. Aim: The aim is to investigate the presence of pain and pain treatment in end of life care and also to learn in which extent validated pain measurements instruments are used. The aim is also to investigate whether there is a difference between pain and different background variables. Method: This is a descriptive study of a quantitative design and is shaped with retrospective registry data. The data was collected through the Swedish register of palliative cares’ death questionnaire. 1435 patients were included who had been cared in different forms of palliative care in Uppsala and Enköping. Result: The result shows that pain measurement instruments are used in a lacking extent in palliative care, where 56 % of those who experienced pain were pain estimated. When it comes to pain estimation this study shows that 69 % of the patients were completely relieved of their pain and 30 % were partly relieved. The analysis of the connection between pain treatment and some death places showed that there is a significant difference. The same result also appeared in the analyze of the connection between some background diseases and the experience of pain. The experience of pain was shown to have a connection with the experience of anxiety. Conclusion: This area is relatively unexplored, which means more research is required. The results of this study could be used as a basis for future research.

This research was executed as three separate studies. Study 1 focused on the perception of pain and the semantic aspects of pain. Study 2 focused on the measurement of acute pain and mood states. Study 3 focused on the psychological treatment of cancer pain. In Study 1 a group of 66 Setswana-speaking adults were required to describe what they saw, what happened, and what would be the outcome with respect to three visually presented pain scenes using The Pain Apperception Test (PAT) A qualitative analysis of their responses shows that pain is experienced as an all encompassing experience affecting all aspects of their lives, such as the physical, emotional, social, and economic. This was found to be true, irrespective of gender and age with the exception of economic issues. A qualitative analysis of their responses to the Pain Eliciting Incidents Questionnaire (PEIQ) reveals that the Setswana pain descriptors are classifiable according to the three dimensions of pain namely, the sensory-discriminative, affective-motivational, and cognitive-evaluative. Sludy 2 applied the Profile of Mood States (POMS) preoperatively to a group of 58 female laparotomy (gynaecological) patients. These patients were also tested post-operatively with the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the Wisconsin Brief Pain Questionnaire (WBPQ) as pain measures. The pain measures were taken at no medication and at the peak of medication. Factor analysis could not confirm the validity of the six POMS scales. These scales also did not show correlations with post-operative pain. Correlations between the pain measures showed acceptable reliability and validity of the VAS and the WBPQ. In Study 3 three groups of 15 cancer patients each, suffering from chronic pain, were treated over a period of two weeks with either cognitive behavioural therapy plus medication, reassurance therapy plus medication, or medication only. Comparison of before and after treatment pain measures showed that both cognitive behavioural therapy and reassurance therapy had a beneficial effect. Follow-up results three months later showed that the beneficial effect of reassurance therapy did not persist. Patients treated with cognitive behavioral therapy still showed the beneficial effects thereof. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

This research was executed as three separate studies. Study 1 focused on the perception of pain and the semantic aspects of pain. Study 2 focused on the measurement of acute pain and mood states. Study 3 focused on the psychological treatment of cancer pain. In Study 1 a group of 66 Setswana-speaking adults were required to describe what they saw, what happened, and what would be the outcome with respect to three visually presented pain scenes using The Pain Apperception Test (PAT) A qualitative analysis of their responses shows that pain is experienced as an all encompassing experience affecting all aspects of their lives, such as the physical, emotional, social, and economic. This was found to be true, irrespective of gender and age with the exception of economic issues. A qualitative analysis of their responses to the Pain Eliciting Incidents Questionnaire (PEIQ) reveals that the Setswana pain descriptors are classifiable according to the three dimensions of pain namely, the sensory-discriminative, affective-motivational, and cognitive-evaluative. Sludy 2 applied the Profile of Mood States (POMS) preoperatively to a group of 58 female laparotomy (gynaecological) patients. These patients were also tested post-operatively with the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the Wisconsin Brief Pain Questionnaire (WBPQ) as pain measures. The pain measures were taken at no medication and at the peak of medication. Factor analysis could not confirm the validity of the six POMS scales. These scales also did not show correlations with post-operative pain. Correlations between the pain measures showed acceptable reliability and validity of the VAS and the WBPQ. In Study 3 three groups of 15 cancer patients each, suffering from chronic pain, were treated over a period of two weeks with either cognitive behavioural therapy plus medication, reassurance therapy plus medication, or medication only. Comparison of before and after treatment pain measures showed that both cognitive behavioural therapy and reassurance therapy had a beneficial effect. Follow-up results three months later showed that the beneficial effect of reassurance therapy did not persist. Patients treated with cognitive behavioral therapy still showed the beneficial effects thereof. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)