Abstract
At the Multidisciplinary Pain Centre the nurses use telephone follow-up as an instrument to identify and relieve various symptoms and problems presented by out-patients with chronic pain. A descriptive study with semistructural interviews and field-work was chosen to describe and analyse the verbal nursing care by telephone follow-up and the consequences these may have for the patient.
The study showed that the verbal nursing care is based on professional communication. Typically the topics of the telephone follow-up are pain, pain control, administration of the medication, and problems related to living with chronic pain. The patients feel confident with and helped by the nurse. A difference was found between the nurses and the patients' experiences of the telephone follow-up and their shared relationship. Predominantly this difference is due to the nurse's lack of a theoretical framework to describe and substantiate the nursing care. Besides, telephone follow-up is not always based on professional, rational nursing.
Overall the quality of care of out-patients is improved by telephone follow-up, which is an important supplement to the treatment given to patients with chronic pain.