Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Post-craniotomy brain tumor patients often experience pain in the post-surgical
period which can negatively affect recovery and surgical outcomes. Research with this
population has focused on pharmacological treatments of post-craniotomy pain and
measurement of pain intensity. Little is known about how these patients experience the
quality of their pain and how this pain is managed. The purpose of this dissertation was
to provide an in-depth description of the experience of post-craniotomy pain during the
post-surgical period. The information gained about how post-craniotomy patients
experience pain and pain management will contribute the development of effective,
tailored interventions to enhance patient satisfaction and outcomes. This dissertation
project was composed of two components. The first component was an integrative
review of literature examining the evidence of pain and associated symptoms in adult
(aged 21 and older), post-craniotomy brain tumor patients. The review examined studies
from the past fourteen years that focused on the incidence and treatment of postcraniotomy
pain. It revealed that the majority of post-craniotomy patients experience
moderate to severe pain after surgery. This pain is associated with nausea, vomiting,
changes in blood pressure, and increased length of hospital stay. The second
component was a qualitative descriptive study of a sample of 28 adult (aged 21 and
older) post-craniotomy patients hospitalized on an inpatient neurosurgical stepdown unit
at a Midwestern urban teaching hospital. During semi-structured interviews, participants
described their experiences of post-craniotomy pain and of their experiences of postcraniotomy
pain management. Data generated from the qualitative descriptive study
were analyzed and resulted in two qualitatively derived products. The first was a
description of participants’ experiences of the quality of their post-craniotomy pain during the post-surgical period. The six types of pain quality described were pain as pressure,
pain as tender or sore, pain as stabbing, pain as throbbing, pain as jarring, and pain as
itching. The second was a description of how post-craniotomy patients experience the
management of their pain during the post-surgical period. The four groups of types of
pain management experiences described were pain-as-non-salient, routine pain
management; pain-as-non-salient, complex pain management; pain-as-salient, routine
pain management; and pain-as-salient, complex pain management.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:IUPUI/oai:scholarworks.iupui.edu:1805/17107 |
| Date | 16 April 2018 |
| Creators | Foust, Rebecca Elizabeth |
| Contributors | Von Ah, Diane M., Draucker, Claire B., Carpenter, Janet S., Kroenke, Kurt, Stone, Cynthia |
| Source Sets | Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
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