The Effect of Training the Nonverbal Pain Scale (NVPS) on the Ability of Nurses to Monitor the Pain of Patients in the Intensive Care Unit

Introduction: Pain in the intensive care unit is a silent fact. Considering the positive features of the nonverbal pain scale (NVPS) in assessing the pain of non-verbal patients, this study investigates the effect of training the NVPS on the ability of nurses to monitor the pain of patients in the intensive care unit.

Materials and methods: In this semi-experimental study, the effect of the NVPS training on the ability of 50 intensive care unit (ICU) nurses of Imam Khomeini Hospital affiliated to Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences was investigated. At first, the ability to diagnose the presence and intensity of pain was checked by a checklist. Then the nurses were taught how to use the scale correctly. After 2 weeks of training completion, the ability to correctly use the scale was measured again. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (McNemar, Chi-squared, paired t-test, and Fisher's exact test) in SPSS software version 16.

Results: After the training on the non-verbal pain scale, there was a significant difference between the intervention and control groups in diagnosing the presence of pain related to changing the patient's position (p = 0.023). Also, nurses ability to diagnose pain intensity during airway suction increased fourfold and for physiotherapy procedures twice as much as before training.

Conclusion: Nonverbal pain scale training improves ICU nurses ability in diagnosing the presence and severity of pain in nonverbal patients.

How to cite this article: Ghayem H, Heidari MR, Aghaei B, Norouzadeh R. The Effect of Training the Nonverbal Pain Scale (NVPS) on the Ability of Nurses to Monitor the Pain of Patients in the Intensive Care Unit. Indian J Crit Care Med 2023;27(3):195-200.