PATIENT PAIN PERCEPTIONS AND COPING STRATEGIES USED IN EARLY CONVALESCENCE FROM CORONARY BYPASS SURGERY.
Contributors: University of Texas at Austin.
Published: 1989
Number of pages: 274
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: This clinical nursing study was conducted to examine coronary bypass patients' pain and coping strategies used with pain during the first (Time A) and third (Time B) postoperative weeks. A descriptive, correlational, comparative design was utilized to explore pain and coping in 44 coronary bypass patient. Subjects marked locations of pain on a diagram and completed two self-report measures, the Jaloweic Coping Scale and the McGill Pain Questionnaire on one location of pain that was the "most uncomfortable." Two questions elicited data about what subjects and others did to relieve pain.

Those subjects who selected the whole front chest area as the "most uncomfortable" location had significantly higher affective scores at Time A (f = 3.69, p =.033) and significantly higher evaluative scores at Time B (f = 4.82, p =.014). There was a significant decrease in all pain scores from Time A to Time B (p =.000). There was no significant change in pain location identified as "most uncomfortable" from Time A to Time B (X$\sp2$ =.717, p $<$.30). There were no significant differences in confrontive, emotive or palliative coping scores by pain location "most uncomfortable" at Time A or Time B. There was a significant decrease in emotive (t = 2.70, p =.011) and palliative (t = 2.23, p =.033) coping scores from Time A to Time B, but no significant difference in confrontive coping over time (t = 1.99, p =.055). At both times there were no significant relationships among total pain scores and coping scores. Alpha reliabilities for the coping subscales at Time A were confrontive.8836, emotive.7059 and palliative.7284.

Content analysis revealed that subjects used multiple and unique strategies to relieve pain. More problem-focused than emotion-focused coping strategies were used at both times. At both times the most frequently reported strategies used by subjects to relieve pain were: position/motion techniques, cognitive strategies and medication. At Time A subjects most frequently reported that others provided mental and emotional support, medication and positioning techniques that reduced pain. At Time B subjects most frequently reported that others' physical assistance and emotional support reduced pain. The results have implications for pain and coping assessment and intervention by the nurse.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-09, Section: B, page: 3920.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, 1989.

School code: 0227.