Implementation of pain best practices as part of the spinal cord injury knowledge mobilization network

This study aimed to improve the management of pain for individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI) in a neurorehabilitation setting. They used the Spinal Cord Injury Knowledge Mobilization Network (SCI KMN) implementation approach to enhance the completion and documentation of pain management practices. A local team developed a plan to implement and document four key pain management practices: assessing pain on admission, creating an inter-professional pain treatment plan, monitoring pain throughout admission, and developing a pain discharge plan. The study found that after implementing the SCI KMN framework, healthcare providers were more consistent in documenting pain management practices. This improved consistency was noted across all four pain management areas, and these practices have now been expanded to all inpatient diagnoses using the same forms and framework.

• 1
  Provider adherence for most outcomes exceeded 70% completion within acceptable timeframes, with improvements found for all outcomes as compared to the retrospective cohort.
• 2
  Pain education as part of the IPTP improved from 12% completion to 74%, documenting pain onset from 4.5% to 80% and pain discharge plan from 40% to 74%.
• 3
  Overall, participants were satisfied with their pain management.