Effects of educational programs in post-operative pain

Abstract

The effects of educational programs in post-operative pain were analyzed. The bibliographic review, covering the period between 1995 and 2005, was carried out in Medline, Ovid, Lilacs and Dedalus databases. The descriptors used were post-operative pain and education program, pain and education, pain and education program, educative and pain, postoperative and education, information and postoperative pain, dor and pós-operatório, dor and educação e dor and informação. Twelve clinical trials written in English, Spanish and Portuguese were analyzed. The length of the educational programs ranged between 12 minutes to 24 hours, and most were developed by a multidisciplinary team. The content of the programs included post-operative pain and pain treatment, and the teaching strategies included classes, videos, folders and website. The outcome variables differed in the studies. There was improvement in pain intensity (7/11), in anxiety level (3/5), in daily activities (2/2), in sleep (1/2), in stress (1/1) and in nurse records about pain (1/1); there were decreases in the consume of opioids (3/4) and in the fear of opioids (1/1). The educational programs were able to improve post-operative pain, except in length of hospitalization, perception of well-being and mood changes.