Purpose and scope
The purpose of this fourth edition guideline is to provide nurses and members of the interprofessional team with evidence-based guidance for the prevention, assessment and management of all types of pain across the lifespan.
This BPG is to be used by nurses and members of the interprofessional team across the health care continuum and in all domains of practice caring for persons at risk of or currently experiencing pain. It is also to be used by employers including health service organizations and academic institutions.
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Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (2025). Pain: Prevention, assessment and management (fourth edition). Toronto, ON: Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario.
Recommendations
Good practice statement 1.0: It is good practice for all health providers to conduct initial and ongoing screening and assessment for pain with people in their care. Pain assessment includes a comprehensive, evidence-based assessment using a person- and family-centred care approach.
An earlier version of this guideline included statements in Table 6 (Pain screening and assessment by population and context) indicating that all residents in Ontario Long Term Care homes must be formally assessed for pain on admission and at least weekly, and that all members of the health-care team (regulated and unregulated) can assess residents for pain. As policies continuously evolve and RNAO's BPGs are implemented internationally, the RNAO BPG development and research team has updated the statement to: “Review the necessary legislation in your region and follow the assessment protocol as required.” For more information, please contact the RNAO BPG research and development team.
Good practice statement 2.0: It is good practice to provide an integrative approach to pain prevention, assessment and management. An integrative approach (i.e., non-pharmacological and/or pharmacological strategies) includes individualized, person- and family-centred care
Good practice statement 3.0: It is good practice for health service organizations and health systems to implement an interprofessional practice approach to pain prevention, assessment and management.
Recommendation 1.0: The expert panel suggests that health service organizations provide access to a specialized interprofessional pain care team for the prevention, assessment and management of pain for people experiencing acute or chronic pain.
Good practice statement 4.0: It is good practice for academic institutions to provide comprehensive education for students entering health professions on pain prevention, assessment and management.
Recommendation 2.0: The expert panel suggests that academic institutions implement interactive education for all students entering health professions on pain prevention, assessment and management.
Good practice statement 5.0: It is good practice for health service organizations to provide interprofessional and discipline-specific education for all health providers on comprehensive pain prevention, assessment and management.
Recommendation 3.0: The expert panel suggests that health service organizations implement opportunities for interactive education for all health providers on pain prevention, assessment and management.
