Which question would be relevant for a practical nurse to ask a client who suffers with chronic pain? Choose the best single question.

Which question would be relevant for a practical nurse to ask a client who suffers with chronic pain? Choose the best single question.

• A. Can you show me where it hurts?
• B. How would you describe the pain?
• C. What makes it better or worse?
• D. How has this pain affected your life?

Answer: (C)

For chronic pain, the most useful question is about what makes the pain better or worse, because it directly reveals factors that can be modified to relieve symptoms and guide the treatment plan. By identifying triggers and relief strategies, the nurse can tailor interventions—such as timing of medications, activity pacing, rest, heat or cold, and other therapies—and help the patient regain function. This approach fits with the idea of probing provoking and palliating factors to understand how pain changes with activities, environment, or treatments, which is essential for managing chronic conditions. As for the other options, asking where it hurts provides location information but doesn’t guide management as directly. Asking how you would describe the pain gives insight into quality and intensity, which is important but doesn’t point to specific actions to reduce pain. Asking how the pain has affected your life is valuable for understanding impact and guiding long-term care, but it doesn’t pinpoint factors to modify to improve day-to-day pain control.

For chronic pain, the most useful question is about what makes the pain better or worse, because it directly reveals factors that can be modified to relieve symptoms and guide the treatment plan. By identifying triggers and relief strategies, the nurse can tailor interventions—such as timing of medications, activity pacing, rest, heat or cold, and other therapies—and help the patient regain function. This approach fits with the idea of probing provoking and palliating factors to understand how pain changes with activities, environment, or treatments, which is essential for managing chronic conditions.

As for the other options, asking where it hurts provides location information but doesn’t guide management as directly. Asking how you would describe the pain gives insight into quality and intensity, which is important but doesn’t point to specific actions to reduce pain. Asking how the pain has affected your life is valuable for understanding impact and guiding long-term care, but it doesn’t pinpoint factors to modify to improve day-to-day pain control.