Individuals experiencing pain while incarcerated depend on nurses, security structures, processes, and regulations for relief.

The intent of this research was to understand men's experience of pain during incarceration to inform correctional nursing practice.

Interpretive description, co-positioned with relational ethics, guided this study. Twelve incarcerated men participated in a single 1-hour interview that was audio-recorded and transcribed. The resultant text was analyzed for themes.

The two main themes were dependence on staff and institutional processes and dependence on oneself and others who were incarcerated. Participants reported a substantial loss in their ability to access pain-relieving medications, products, and services. Unresponsive or delayed pain-relieving interventions from nurses contributed to their sense of indignity, disrespect, and injustice. The participants employed whatever was available, mainly exercise equipment and social support, to manage their pain.

Nurses must engage with incarcerated patients meaningfully to understand and respond to contextual factors that influence their pain experiences. Participants identified loss of autonomy and dependence on nurses as barriers to their pain relief.

Nurse engagement and responsiveness are crucial to altering incarcerated men's perceptions of injustice or helplessness while improving their pain experiences. Nurses must also foster autonomous pain-management approaches that men can use without limitations within correctional settings.