The relationship between pain beliefs and pain severity of liver transplant patients

Objective: This study was conducted in a descriptive relational manner to determine the relationship between pain beliefs and postoperative pain severity in liver transplant patients. Materials and Methods: The population of the study consisted of all patients who had liver transplantation in Turgut Özal Medical Center Liver Transplantation Institute, and the sample consisted of 118 patients who agreed to participate in the study and met the inclusion criteria. In this study, which was conducted between January 2020 and May 2021, the data were collected using the Personal Information Form, Numerical Rating Scale and Pain Beliefs Questionnaire. SPSS 25 software was used for the evaluation of the data. Results: As a result of the study, the average pain intensity of liver transplant patients was 2.91 ± 1.50, the average organic belief score was 3.39 ± 0.85, the average psychological belief score was 3.86 ± 1.28, and the total pain belief score was 7.25 ± 1.80. It was determined that there was a moderately positive correlation between the mean pain severity score and the total and sub-dimension mean scores of the patients (p <0.05). It was determined that the psychological pain belief scores of the patients whose income was higher than the expenditure, who had pain in the surgical area + non-surgical area, and who took nonopioid + adjuvant group drugs, and the organic and psychological pain belief scores of those who had pain in the preoperative period were significantly higher (p <0.05). It was found that psychological beliefs were more effective than organic beliefs on pain severity. Conclusion: It was determined that the mean pain intensity of the patients was low, and the mean of psychological belief was higher than the mean of organic belief. It was determined that as the severity of pain increased, the organic and psychological belief scores increased. The result of the research shows that the determination of pain beliefs has an important place in providing pain control. Keywords: Pain, Pain Beliefs, Pain Severity, Nurse, Liver Transplantation