Bachelor of Nursing, Department of Medical Science, Udine University, Viale Ungheria 20, 33100, Udine, Italy.
Psychology Research Centre (CIP), Department of Psychology, Autonomous University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Aug 22;23(1):1594. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16535-5.
Pain is a common reason for seeking out healthcare professionals and support services. However, certain populations, such as people with deafness, may encounter difficulties in effectively communicating their pain; on the other side, health care professionals may also encounter challenges to assess pain in this specific population.
To describe (a) the state of the research in the field of pain assessment in individuals with deafness; (b) instruments validated; and (b) strategies facilitating the pain communication or assessment in this population.
A systematic review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines were performed, searching Medline, CINAHL, Scopus, Embase and PsycInfo databases, from their initiation to July 2023. Primary and secondary studies, involving adults with deafness and investigating pain assessment and communication difficulties, facilitators, or barriers, were eligible. The included studies were assessed in their methodological quality with the Quality Assessment for Diverse Studies tool; data extraction and the narrative synthesis was provided by two researchers.
Five studies were included. Two were validation studies, while the remaining were a case report, a case study and a qualitative study. The interRAI Community Health Assessment and the Deafblind Supplement scale have been validated among people with deafness by reporting few psychometric properties; in contrast, instruments well established in the general population (e.g. Visual Analogue Scale) have been assessed in their usability and understandability among individuals with deafness, suggesting their limitations. Some strategies have been documented as facilitating pain communication and assessment: (a) ensuring inclusiveness (the presence of family members as mediators); (b) ensuring the preparedness of healthcare professionals (e.g. in sign language); and (c) making the environment friendly to this population (e.g. removing masks).
The research regarding pain in this population is in its infancy, resulting in limited evidence. In recommending more research capable of establishing the best pain assessment instrument, some strategies emerged for assessing pain in which the minimum standards of care required to offer to this vulnerable population should be considered.
疼痛是寻求医疗保健专业人员和支持服务的常见原因。然而，某些人群，如聋人，在有效沟通疼痛方面可能会遇到困难；另一方面，医疗保健专业人员在评估这个特定人群的疼痛时也可能会遇到挑战。
描述 (a) 聋人群体疼痛评估领域的研究现状；(b) 验证的工具；和 (b) 促进该人群疼痛沟通或评估的策略。
按照系统评价和荟萃分析首选报告项目的指南进行了系统评价，检索了 Medline、CINAHL、Scopus、Embase 和 PsycInfo 数据库，从它们的启动到 2023 年 7 月。纳入的研究是针对成年人的，研究内容涉及聋人疼痛评估和沟通困难、促进因素或障碍。使用多元研究质量评估工具评估纳入研究的方法学质量；由两名研究人员进行数据提取和叙述性综合。
纳入了 5 项研究。其中 2 项是验证研究，其余 3 项分别为病例报告、病例研究和定性研究。通过报告很少的心理测量特性，interRAI 社区健康评估和聋盲补充量表已在聋人群体中得到验证；相比之下，在聋人群体中评估了在普通人群中广泛使用的工具（例如视觉模拟量表）的可用性和可理解性，表明其存在局限性。已经记录了一些策略来促进疼痛沟通和评估：(a) 确保包容性（家庭成员作为调解人在场）；(b) 确保医疗保健专业人员的准备（例如，手语）；和 (c) 使环境对这个人群友好（例如，摘下口罩）。
关于该人群疼痛的研究还处于起步阶段，证据有限。在建议更多能够确定最佳疼痛评估工具的研究时，出现了一些评估疼痛的策略，这些策略应考虑到为这个弱势群体提供最低标准的护理。
