Pain prevalence at a Swedish university hospital : 65% of inpatients reported pain in the past 24 hours.(COMMENTARY ON THIS ARTICLE BY GARETH PARSONS)

THIS IS A COMMENTARY ON THE ABOVE ARTICLE BY GARETH PARSONS. Implications for practice and research ¦Patients with severe pain are found in all clinical settings; ¦The use of pain assessment tools by nurses is generally poor; ¦The use of a pain assessment tool is a means of involving patients in their pain management; ¦Patients' satisfaction with involvement in their pain management is an area worthy of further research. Context Pain assessment, using an appropriate assessment tool, is a quality of markerand provides a method of evaluating the effectiveness of pain treatment. Best practicein the measurement of pain is patient self-report.Previous studies demonstrate that nurses do not routinely conduct pain assessment,pain tools are not used for assessmentand that nurse and patient scores do not match.