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Pain is a severe warning sign when there is a change or injury in the body. The study of this aspect is of particular interest because it relates to a broader concept. It can be helpful in the medical practice of nursing. This aspect especially concerns the ethnic background and culture of individuals, which are critical in the process of perception and dealing with pain. Therefore, gaining an understanding of the differences in the transference and response to pain is essential for nurses to provide the most effective care and treatment.
The first step is to gain an understanding of what constitutes a phenomenon under study. Thus, from a biological point of view, there are several types of pain. However, this phenomenon needs to be viewed from a slightly different perspective. Hence, pain can be psychological, physical, and emotional in nature, each of which is caused by a variety of factors. After an injury, individuals produce an inevitable response to the sensation experienced. This may be feelings of anger, sadness, or anxiety. Therefore, the way in which patients feel depends on the process of medical care and the further process of getting rid of it. Adjustment of the psychological and emotional state of individuals becomes the central part of nurses’ work, which makes it necessary to study this sphere of knowledge.
The emotional and psychological state of patients during the experience of pain has a significant influence. Thus, upbringing, culture, and traditions have a particular impact on how patients respond to pain and how seriously and responsibly the treatment process is conducted. Thus, studies have noted that depending on race and ethnicity, individuals respond differently to pain (Krupić et al., 2019). Ethnic background is shaped by cultural traits, treatment traditions, and disease transfer of different races. Thus, sensitivity to pain may differ among Caucasians, African Americans, and Native people. Awareness and training of medical personnel on this topic are critical to the success of helping individuals.
Pain perception and pain responses are highly correlated with ethnicity and culture. The way in which this phenomenon is treated in the community in which the patient is located is reflected in the way the individual will communicate his or her feelings to hospital staff. For example, studies show that African Americans tend to exaggerate their feelings of pain and tolerate treatment more severely than whites (Ng et al., 2019). This is due to the fact that they have much lower pain tolerance, which shapes subsequent emotional and psychological responses.
Therefore, how medical professionals manage their activities in providing care plays a unique role. D’Arcy (2009) pointed out that “it is an emotional component that may trigger behaviors that play an important role in how a patient’s pain is perceived by others” (p. 5). A proper and healthy perception of each patient’s characteristics is essential. In addition, health care providers have a responsibility to understand that often people may either exaggerate or downplay their feelings, depending on how pain has been treated in their family and inner circle. This will help medical professionals form an appropriate treatment and care plan.
In addition to patients’ perceptions of pain, nurses’ own culture, personal biases, values and beliefs have a significant impact on the outcomes of care. This is supported by the fact that they can alter the interpretation of patients’ pain experiences. For example, if medical professionals, who have a high pain threshold and can contain their emotions of discomfort, work with patients, they will broadcast this behavior to them. As a result, the pain of other individuals will seem exaggerated or insignificant to that doctor or nurse, so they may decide to give less pain medication.
This case makes it necessary to train healthcare personnel to manage their beliefs, prejudices, and opinions in the delivery of healthcare services. For example, it is essential to educate them that they should treat all members of different ethnic groups alone and not judge their feelings based on their own backgrounds. Moreover, it is essential to spread awareness of the unique characteristics that people have when confronted with pain. It is essential to emphasize that “nurses should be aware of how personal beliefs and perceptions make objective assessment and treatment of patients’ pain difficult” (Callister, 2003, p. 209). A sober attitude toward the patient’s emotional and psychological state will assist in determining the correct treatment plan and subsequent recommendations. In addition, when individuals see a calm medical professional in front of them, they may find it easier to contain their emotions and worries. They gain a sense of calm and trust, which are critical during the delivery of health care services.
The next aspect to be considered in the framework of the work under study is the prescription of treatment according to the ethnic characteristics of patients. Thus, variations in the assessment of pain when caring for the ethnic group play a significant role in this process. This community for the study becomes the African American group. The interest of its study is that it is often held up to prejudice about the perception and transfer of pain. As mentioned earlier, black people experience more pain than other people. On the other hand, research showed that “the cultural effect of the strong female’s role in African American culture tended to cause the female cancer patients to be less interested in complaining of pain and finding pain relief” (D’Arcy, 2009, p. 6). This may be due to the fact that, due to the strong stereotypes about this group, people prefer not to show their real feelings and feelings about pain.
Aspects that are important to consider are not only emotions but also verbal and nonverbal components. Research stated that “each culture has its own language of distress when experiencing pain” (Callister, 2003, p. 2017). First of all, it is worth emphasizing that the expression of pain in most people is similar, and it is impossible to say with certainty that any ethnic group is strikingly different from another. All people are characterized by such verbal characteristics as swearing, shouting, moaning, or pleading for help. Nevertheless, some people, because of their cultural and ethnic backgrounds, prefer to contain their emotions and not use words, as is often the case among African Americans.
However, such behavior is observed in those representatives who want to show that pain is tolerable and restrained for them. On the other hand, people can actively verbalize their feelings, openly expressing the symptoms they are experiencing. The same can be applied to non-verbal reactions such as twisting, crying, showing aggression, or stroking the site of the injury. All of these reactions are directly related to how people were raised in the family and immediate environment.
Various pain assessment tools are used in medical practice to determine the severity of pain. There are many methods for determining the level of discomfort in individuals, most of which are aimed at those who are able to self-report their sensations. Furthermore, among all methods, this paper highlights the Iowa Pain Thermometer. This approach is based on verbal description, looking at seven levels of pain (Mandysova & Herr, 2019). In this method, patients are asked to assess their own condition based on the scale. Often, it is marked with numbers to define pain from the lowest to the highest. As a tool for determining the pain experience of individuals, it is considered the most successful because it is more sensitive to change and has a reduced possibility of failing the assessment.
Therefore, there may be some variations of nursing interventions in the management of pain when caring for the ethnic group of African Americans. Traditional methods can be used to treat this community with alternative methods. This choice is based on the fact that patients may have different backgrounds, which will be reflected in their behavior. Thus, when cases of vivid and complicated reactions arise, it is worth engaging alternative methods that will work to reassure patients. In the absence of any uncommon reactions, more traditional approaches may be implemented.
In conclusion, pain is a phenomenon that can be characterized not only from a biological point of view but also from an emotional and psychological point of view. In particular, the ethnic and cultural background forms the formation of perception and response to pain. It determines how patients respond verbally and nonverbally to feelings of discomfort. Thus, nurses and other healthcare providers should form their practices and treatment based on their knowledge of pain perception.
References
Bell, B. A., Ruscheweyh, R., Kelley, B. J., Ness, T. J., Vetter, T. R., & Sellers, A. B. (2018). Ethnic differences identified by pain sensitivity questionnaire correlate with clinical pain responses.Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine, 43(2), 200-204. Web.
Callister, L. C. (2003). Cultural influences on pain perceptions and behaviors.Home Health Care Management & Practice, 15(3), 207-211. Web.
D’Arcy, Y. (2009). The effect of culture on pain.Nursing Made Incredibly Easy, 7(3), 5-7. Web.
Krupić, F., Čustović, S., Jašarević, M., Šadić, S., Fazlić, M., Grbic, K., & Samuelsson, K. (2019). Ethnic differences in the perception of pain: a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative research. Medicinski Glasnik, 16(1).
Mandysova, P., & Herr, K. (2019). The translation and linguistic validation of the Revised Iowa Pain Thermometer into Czech for a clinical study involving Czech stroke patients. Kontakt, 21(1).
Ng, T. S. (2019). Racial differences in experimental pain sensitivity and conditioned pain modulation: A study of Chinese and Indians.Journal of Pain Research, 12, 2193. Web.
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