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ABSTRACT: Pain is a major concern for individuals with cancer, particularly older adults who make up the largest segment of individuals with cancer and who have some of the most unique pain challenges. One of the priorities of hospice is to provide a pain-free death, and while outcomes are better in hospice, patients still die with poorly controlled pain.
This article reports on the results of a Translating Research into Practice intervention designed to promote the adoption of evidence-based pain practices for older adults with cancer in community-based hospices.
This Institutional Human Subjects Review Board-approved study was a cluster randomized controlled trial implemented in 16 Midwestern hospices.
Retrospective medical records from newly admitted patients were used to determine the intervention effect. Additionally, survey and focus group data gathered from hospice staff at the completion of the intervention phase were analyzed.
Improvement on the Cancer Pain Practice Index, an overall composite outcome measure of evidence-based practices for the experimental sites, was not significantly greater than control sites. Decrease in patient pain severity from baseline to post-intervention in the experimental group was greater; however, the result was not statistically significant (P = 0.1032).
Findings indicate a number of factors that may impact implementation of multicomponent interventions, including unique characteristics and culture of the setting, the level of involvement with the change processes, competing priorities and confounding factors, and complexity of the innovation (practice change). Our results suggest that future study is needed on specific factors to target when implementing a community-based hospice intervention, including determining and measuring intervention fidelity prospectively.
Pain Medicine 07/2012; 13(8):1004-17. · 2.35 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The lack of a systematic and comprehensive pain management program is a common quality problem in nursing homes. The purpose of this article is to address the business case for effective pain management in this setting, including the conceptual domains and processes that should be considered in improving quality and reducing costs. Unfortunately, the literature contains very little to inform those working to implement effective and efficient pain management programs in nursing homes. This article suggests several strategies for establishing an internal business case to support the implementation of a comprehensive pain management program in a nursing home setting.
Journal of Gerontological Nursing 02/2012; 38(2):42-52. · 0.78 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Individuals who are unable to communicate their pain are at greater risk for under recognition and undertreatment of pain. This position paper describes the magnitude of this issue, defines populations at risk and offers clinical practice recommendations for appropriate pain assessment using a hierarchical framework for assessing pain in those unable to self-report. Nurses have a moral, ethical, and professional obligation to advocate for all individuals in their care, particularly those who are vulnerable and unable to speak for themselves. Just like all other patients, these special populations require consistent, ongoing assessment, appropriate treatment, and evaluation of interventions to insure the best possible pain relief. Because of continued advances and new developments in strategies and tools for assessing pain in these populations, clinicians are encouraged to stay current through regular review of new research and practice recommendations.
Pain management nursing: official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses 12/2011; 12(4):230-50. · 1.31 Impact Factor
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M Cary Reid,
David A Bennett,
Wen G Chen,
Basil A Eldadah,
John T Farrar,
Bruce Ferrell,
Rollin M Gallagher,
Joseph T Hanlon, Keela Herr,
Susan D Horn, [......],
Yu Woody Lin,
Kaleb Michaud,
R Sean Morrison,
Tuhina Neogi,
Linda L Porter,
Daniel H Solomon,
Michael Von Korff,
Karen Weiss,
James Witter,
Kevin L Zacharoff
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ABSTRACT: There has been a growing recognition of the need for better pharmacologic management of chronic pain among older adults. To address this need, the National Institutes of Health Pain Consortium sponsored an "Expert Panel Discussion on the Pharmacological Management of Chronic Pain in Older Adults" conference in September 2010 to identify research gaps and strategies to address them. Specific emphasis was placed on ascertaining gaps regarding use of opioid and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications because of continued uncertainties regarding their risks and benefits.
Eighteen panel members provided oral presentations; each was followed by a multidisciplinary panel discussion. Meeting transcripts and panelists' slide presentations were reviewed to identify the gaps and the types of studies and research methods panelists suggested could best address them.
Fifteen gaps were identified in the areas of treatment (e.g., uncertainty regarding the long-term safety and efficacy of commonly prescribed analgesics), epidemiology (e.g., lack of knowledge regarding the course of common pain syndromes), and implementation (e.g., limited understanding of optimal strategies to translate evidence-based pain treatments into practice). Analyses of data from electronic health care databases, observational cohort studies, and ongoing cohort studies (augmented with pain and other relevant outcomes measures) were felt to be practical methods for building an age-appropriate evidence base to improve the pharmacologic management of pain in later life.
Addressing the gaps presented in the current report was judged by the panel to have substantial potential to improve the health and well-being of older adults with chronic pain.
Pain Medicine 08/2011; 12(9):1336-57. · 2.35 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Gathering firsthand or reported information about patients in the final stages of terminal cancer is difficult due to patient frailty, cognitive impairment, excessive fatigue, and severity of illness, as well as gatekeeping by hospice providers and caregivers, and highly variable documentation practices. We sought to further understand and elucidate end-of-life experiences in older cancer patients through the application of validated tools employed in the hospice setting. This article summarizes data collected about pain, non-pain symptoms, and other aspects of quality of life (QOL) as reported by older hospice patients or by their caregivers during the 2 weeks of hospice care.
Data was collected from an ongoing Institutional Human Subjects Review Board-approved research project with 94 older adults with cancer or their caregivers receiving service in a home setting from 14 Midwestern hospices. Participants completed one or two telephone interviews. Instruments used to gather information include the Brief Pain Inventory and the Brief Hospice Inventory.
Data analysis showed mean "worst pain" ratings significantly decreased from Interview 1 to Interview 2, and pain reports were significantly correlated with fatigue, anxiety, appetite, comfort, symptom control, and overall QOL.
Our findings reinforce previously held views that older patients with cancer experience pain and non-pain symptoms. And both pain and non-pain symptoms can impact and confound the treatment of other symptoms and interfere with the patient's overall QOL. The results of this study support the assertion that hospice care can have a positive impact on pain severity and related suffering, as well as patient QOL as death approaches.
Pain Medicine 06/2011; 12(6):880-9. · 2.35 Impact Factor
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Keela Herr
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ABSTRACT: The prevalence of pain and pain undertreatment in older persons, along with the many potential detrimental consequences of undertreated pain, pose a substantial burden to the individual, their family, and society. An accurate pain assessment is the foundation for treating pain; yet, thorough pain assessments and regular reassessments are too often neglected. Older adults typically present with multiple pain etiologies, making it all the more imperative that a comprehensive assessment is conducted. Comprehensive assessments should include a detailed investigation of a patient's pain and medical history, a physical examination, and diagnostic testing, if needed. Both the impact of pain and its severity should be established by questioning about the presence of pain and using pain assessment instruments. Tools for pain assessment should be tested in older adult populations to establish reliability, validity, and sensitivity to changes from treatment. Self-report is the gold standard for assessing pain; however, in many clinical circumstances with older adults, the patient's verbal report is unobtainable. Following an unsuccessful attempt at self-report from a nonverbal older adult, the potential causes of pain should be explored. Direct observation can then be used to identify behaviors suggestive of pain, and the patient's response to an analgesic trial can be observed. A pain behavior tool can also provide useful information suggesting the presence of pain.
The journal of pain: official journal of the American Pain Society 03/2011; 12(3 Suppl 1):S3-S13. · 3.78 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Determine if the multidimensional pain-related experience differs between cognitively intact and impaired older adults.
Cross-sectional analysis of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging.
Community-dwelling older adults.
Pain reports were dichotomized from a 5-point scale into no/very mild vs moderate and greater. Cognition measured by the Modified Mini Mental State Exam (0-100) was dichotomized into cognitively intact (>77) and cognitively impaired (≤77). Five self-rated Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) were dichotomized into no impairment vs any impairment. The Mental Health Inventory consists of five self-rated questions about psychological state and well-being, with scores ranging from 0 to 30; scores >11 indicate depression. Self-rated health was dichotomized into very good/pretty good and not too good/poor/very poor. Additional covariates included demographics and co-morbidities.
Of the 5,549 (97.3%) eligible participants, 1,991 (35.9%) reported pain of moderate intensity or greater, and 1,028 (18.5%) were cognitively impaired. Among cognitively impaired participants, moderate or greater pain report was associated with functional impairment odds ratio (OR) = 1.74 (1.15, 2.62; P < 0.01), depressed mood OR = 1.69 (1.18, 2.44; P < 0.01), and lower self-rated health OR = 2.35 (1.69, 3.30; P < 0.01). Among cognitively intact participants, pain report was similarly associated with functional impairment OR = 1.40 (1.20,1.63); P < 0.01), depressed mood OR = 1.88 (1.59,2.23; P < 0.01), and lower self-rated health OR = 2.34 (1.94,2.82; P < 0.01).
Pain self-report in both cognitively intact and impaired community-dwelling persons is associated with a similar multidimensional experience. These findings confirm the need for comprehensive evaluation of pain and related outcomes in all older adults, with appropriate pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic management.
Pain Medicine 11/2010; 11(11):1680-7. · 2.35 Impact Factor
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Keela Herr
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ABSTRACT: Across all care settings for older patients, pain is often ineffectively managed. A gap still exists between best-practice recommendations for pain assessment/treatment and current clinical practice, despite the availability of guidelines. Using a validated pain scale is critical to objectively evaluate pain intensity. Assessing pain in patients with cognitive impairment can be particularly challenging, but using pain behaviors and specifically designed, reliable, and valid tools can assist the process. Other guiding principles when selecting pain assessment tools, such as clinical usability and potential limitations, are discussed. Once pain is identified, the goals of care for older patients center on positively affecting function. Pain undertreatment is a particularly important phenomenon to address, because unrelieved persistent pain can significantly affect older individuals. Approaches tailored to an individual's needs and supported by the best available evidence should be implemented to improve patient outcomes and to increase the consistency with which care is delivered to the growing population of older Americans. The goal of this paper was to provide current evidence-based strategies and tools for pain assessment in older adults, including those with cognitive impairment.
Pain management nursing: official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses 06/2010; 11(2 Suppl):S1-10. · 1.31 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Various clinical practice guidelines addressing pain assessment and management have been available for several years that pertain, at least to some extent, to older patients with cancer. Nonetheless, systematic evaluations or methodologically sound studies of adherence to pain management practice guidelines within Medicare-certified hospice programs are lacking. As part of a larger translating-research-into-practice pain improvement study involving older patients with cancer in hospice programs, we recognized the need to create a valid and reliable tool that can facilitate critical evaluation of hospice medical records for nurse and physician adherence to pain management guidelines to create a consolidated score for comparative and quality improvement purposes. We report the process used to create this tool, named the Cancer Pain Practice Index, and a guide to its use.
Journal of pain and symptom management 05/2010; 39(5):791-802. · 2.42 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to report on current provider evidence-based assessment and treatment practices for older adults with cancer in community-based hospice settings. Using the Cancer Pain Practices Index, a tool developed by the researchers to measure evidence-based pain management practices, patients received an average of 32% of those key evidence-based practices (EBPs) that were applicable to their situations. When examining individual practices, most of the patients had their pains assessed at admission using a valid pain scale (69.7%) and had primary components of a comprehensive assessment completed at admission (52.7%); most patients with admission reports of pain had an order for pain medication (83.5%). However, data revealed a number of practice gaps, including additional components of a comprehensive assessment completed within 48 hours of admission (0%); review of the pain treatment plan at each reassessment (35.7%); reassessment of moderate or greater pain (5.3%); consecutive pain reports of 5 or greater followed by increases in pain medication (15.8%); monitoring of analgesic-induced side effects (19.3%); initiation of a bowel regimen for patients with an opioid order (32.3%); and documentation of both nonpharmacological therapies (22.5%) and written pain management plans (0.6%). Findings highlight positive EBPs and areas for improving the translation of EBPs into practice. Data suggest that cancer pain is not being documented as consistently assessed, reassessed, or treated in a manner consistent with current EBP recommendations for older adults with cancer in community-based hospices.
Journal of pain and symptom management 05/2010; 39(5):803-19. · 2.42 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Noncancer pain and cognitive impairment affect many older adults and each is associated with functional disability, but their combined impact has yet to be rigorously studied.
This is a cross-sectional analysis of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging. Pain was collapsed from a 5-point to a dichotomous scale (no and very mild vs moderate and greater). Cognitive status was dichotomized from the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (0-100) to no (>77) or mild-moderate (77-50) impairment. Five Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) and seven Activities of Daily Living (ADL) were self-rated as "accomplished without any help" (0), "with some help" (1), or "completely unable to do oneself" (2) and then summed to create a composite score of 0-10 and 0-14, respectively. Multivariate linear regression analysis was conducted to determine the associations between self-reported functional status with moderate or greater pain, cognitive impairment, and the interaction of the two.
A total of 5,143 (90.2%) participants were eligible, 1,813 (35.6%) reported pain at a moderate intensity or greater and 727 (14.3%) were cognitively impaired. The median IADL and ADL summary scores increased among the pain and cognition categories in the following order: no pain and cognitively intact (0.63 SD 1.24, 0.23 SD 0.80), pain and cognitively intact (1.18 SD 1.69, 0.57 SD 1.27), no pain and cognitively impaired (1.64 SD 2.22, 0.75 SD 1.57), and pain and cognitively impaired (2.27 SD 2.47, 1.35 SD 2.09), respectively. Multivariate linear regression found IADL summary scores were associated with pain, coefficient .17 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.07-0.26), p < .01; cognitive impairment, coefficient .67 (95% CI 0.51-0.83), p < .01; and an interaction effect of pain with cognitive impairment, coefficient .24 (95% CI 0.01-0.49), p = .05. ADL summary scores were associated with pain coefficient .10 (95% CI 0.04-0.17), p < .01 and cognitive impairment, coefficient .29 (95% CI 0.19-0.39), p < .01, but had a nonsignificant interaction term, coefficient .12 (95% CI -0.03 to 0.29), p = .12.
Noncancer pain and cognitive impairment are independently associated with IADL and ADL impairment and IADL impairment is even greater when both conditions are present.
The Journals of Gerontology Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 03/2010; 65(8):880-6. · 4.60 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Many tools are available for the assessment of pain in nonverbal older adults; however, guidelines are needed to help clinicians select the proper instrument for use in the nursing home setting. This article describes a project to identify clinically useful pain-behavioral assessment tools that have undergone sufficient psychometric testing. Phase 1 of the project included a comprehensive review and critique of currently available tools. In Phase 2 the National Nursing Home Pain Collaborative developed criteria to evaluate an updated list of tools and then rated 14 tools using these criteria. As a result, two tools were recommended as most representative of current state of the science, most clinically relevant, and practically applicable to integrate into everyday practice and support adherence to regulatory guidelines. Such recommendations for selection of best-available pain assessment tools are a cornerstone for clinicians in regard to managing pain of nursing home residents who, due to dementia, are unable to self-report pain.
Journal of Gerontological Nursing 03/2010; 36(3):18-29; quiz 30-1. · 0.78 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: To examine and compare the psychometric properties of two common observational pain assessment tools used in persons with dementia.
In a cross-sectional descriptive study nursing home (NH) residents were videotaped at rest and during a structured movement procedure. Following one training session and one practice session, two trained graduate nursing research assistants independently scored the tapes using the two pain observation tools.
Fourteen NHs in Western Washington State participating in a randomized controlled trial of an intervention to enhance pain assessment and management.
Sixty participants with moderate to severe pain were identified by nursing staff or chosen based on the pain items from the most recent Minimum Data Set assessment.
Checklist of Nonverbal Pain Indicators (CNPI) and the Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia (PAINAD), demographic and pain-related data (Minimum Data Set), nursing assistant reports of participants' usual pain intensity, and Pittsburgh Agitation Scale.
Internal consistency for both tools was good except for the CNPI at rest for one rater. Inter-rater reliability for pain presence was fair (K = 0.25 for CNPI with movement; K = 0.31 for PAINAD at rest) to moderate (K = 0.43 for CNPI at rest; K = 0.54 for PAINAD with movement). There were significant differences in mean CNPI and PAINAD scores at rest and during movement, providing support for construct validity. However, both tools demonstrated marked floor effects, particularly when participants were at rest.
Despite earlier studies supporting the reliability and validity of the CNPI and the PAINAD, findings from the current study indicate that these measures warrant further study with clinical users, should be used cautiously both in research and clinical settings and only as part of a comprehensive approach to pain assessment.
Pain Medicine 03/2010; 11(3):395-404. · 2.35 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: With increased regulation and scrutiny of outcomes, hospice programs are being challenged to consider the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs). This study reports findings from hospice director interviews and staff focus groups, which occurred following the completion of a multifaceted translating research into practice (TRIP) intervention designed to promote evidence-based pain management practices. The purpose of this article is to provide background on the use of EBPs, to report facilitators and barriers to overall implementation of pain management EBPs in hospice, and to provide recommendations for hospices interested in increasing the use of EBPs. Three areas for evaluation prior to implementing an EBP initiative in hospices were identified: community, agency, and staff cultures. Recommendations for implementation of EBPs in hospices are provided.
The American journal of hospice & palliative care 02/2010; 27(6):369-76.
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ABSTRACT: Documentation is a key factor in supporting consistency and quality of patient care in the hospice setting, however variation among program provider practices, including documentation, were observed during the initial data collection phase of our National Cancer Institute (NCI) funded study, Cancer Pain in Elders: Promoting Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) in Hospices. The study is a randomized trial to test a multifaceted intervention to promote adoption and maintenance of EBPs for cancer pain management involving 16 Midwestern hospices of varied size and structure. In the face of such variance, and especially in the absence of uniformly adopted outcome measures and documentation standards, quality improvement initiatives in this important and growing healthcare sector will be difficult to manage. This paper provides background on the importance of documentation, quality measures, outcomes of care, and regulatory imperatives in the hospice setting with specific observations from our research study and suggestions for changes in documentation practices.From our observations, we posit the necessity of pertinent outcome measures supported by standardized documentation processes in hospice. Uniformity in key practice indicators and patient outcome measures in documentation systems would advance the movement to improve quality and consistency of care in hospices. Standardization of documentation systems and language would also facilitate the conduct of research in the hospice setting, a population for which advancing knowledge is essential to assure quality care at the end of life.
Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing 11/2009; 11(6):334-341. · 0.38 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: One of the challenges in measuring adoption of complex evidence-based practices (EBPs) such as acute pain management is determining what constitutes adherence to an EBP guideline. Traditionally, individual process indicators extrapolated from an EBP guideline are selected as dependent measures of guideline adoption. When using multiple indicators, the challenge is determining the number of indicators that must be met to define adherence to the EBP guideline. The primary goal of the study reported herein was to develop and test a summative index (SI) of guideline adherence for acute pain management of hospitalized older adults. Steps in formulating the initial index are described as well as refinement of this metric. Techniques used included factor analysis, discriminate validity, and split-half reliability. The resulting SI is composed of 18 indicators each scored as 0 (not present) or 1 (present), with a total SI score of 0 to 18.
Applied nursing research: ANR 11/2009; 22(4):264-73. · 0.87 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This article examines acute pain assessment and pharmacological management in the emergency department that occurred over a period of time after the release of the new pain assessment and management compliance standards of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) for accredited health care organizations. Data were available from that collected for a large-scale study testing a Translating Research into Practice intervention to promote use of evidence-based practices for acute pain management in older adults.
Medical records were abstracted from hospitalized older adult patients with hip fractures admitted through the emergency department (N = 1454). Records were from 12 acute care hospitals of patients receiving care in the emergency departments from 3 different periods between 2000 and 2002. Major variables examined were (1) pain assessment practices and (2) pharmacological pain treatment practices derived from an Evidence-based Guideline on Acute Pain Management in Older Adults.
Trends over time illustrate improvements in pain assessment practices, with almost all patients having some documentation related to pain (99% in 2002), although only 54.4% had pain assessed with a numeric rating scale, 4.2% with a non-numeric rating scale (such as verbal descriptor or faces scale), and 7.4% with nonverbal pain behaviors. Thus, 34% of patients had no objective assessment of pain documented. The mean pain intensity reported remained high (6.8 to 7.2 out of 10) across the 3 periods. By the end of the study's final data collection point in 2002, only 60% of patients had any analgesic ordered, with more than half of this group (59%) having an opioid ordered. Of those administered an analgesic, more than 90% received an opioid. Practice improvements were noted over time in a decline in intramuscular opioid administration and overall meperidine administration and an increase in morphine as the opioid of choice in this setting.
Pain assessment and management practices in the emergency departments showed improvements over time following the release of JCAHO standards for pain management. However, the care documented does not consistently represent best practices for all patients.
Journal of emergency nursing: JEN: official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association 09/2009; 35(4):312-20. · 0.36 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The purpose of this article is to elaborate on barriers to research participation by older adults at end of life. We focus on the hospice setting and classify barriers to research participation into six domains: societal attitudes toward death, research procedures, health care organizations, agency staff, patients' families and caregivers, and patient characteristics. We characterize particular participation issues, uncertainties in participation for individuals with advanced illness, and infringements on patient self-determination, as well as potential solutions to these research challenges. Our observation of the complex palliative context includes the realization that a singular change will not have large enough impact on participation. We conclude that, along with the responsibility to expand the research base addressing the needs of dying individuals, there is also a need to understand the challenges of implementing research projects with older adults at end of life.
Research in Gerontological Nursing 07/2009; 2(3):162-71. · 0.74 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: To estimate hospital cost changes associated with a behavioral intervention designed to increase the use of evidence-based acute pain management practices in an inpatient setting and to estimate the direct effect that changes in evidence-based acute pain management practices have on inpatient cost.
Data from a randomized "translating research into practice" (TRIP) behavioral intervention designed to increase the use of evidence-based acute pain management practices for patients hospitalized with hip fractures.
Experimental design and observational "as-treated" and instrumental variable (IV) methods.
Abstraction from medical records and Uniform Billing 1992 (UB92) discharge abstracts.
The TRIP intervention cost on average $17,714 to implement within a hospital but led to cost savings per inpatient stay of more than $1,500. The intervention increased the cost of nursing services, special operating rooms, and therapy services per inpatient stay, but these costs were more than offset by cost reductions within other cost categories. "As-treated" estimates of the effect of changes in evidence-based acute pain management practices on inpatient cost appear significantly underestimated, whereas IV estimates are statistically significant and are distinct from, but consistent with, estimates associated with the intervention.
A hospital treating more that 12 patients with acute hip fractures can expect to lower overall cost by implementing the TRIP intervention. We also demonstrated the advantages of using IV methods over "as-treated" methods to assess the direct effect of practice changes on cost.
Health Services Research 03/2009; 44(1):245-63. · 2.16 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The undertreatment of pain in older adults who reside in long-term care (LTC) facilities has been well documented, leading to clinical guideline development and professional educational programs designed to foster better pain assessment and management in this population. Despite these efforts, little improvement has occurred, and we postulate that focused attention to public policy and cost implications of systemic change is required to create positive pain-related outcomes.
Our goal was to outline feasible and cost-effective clinical and public policy recommendations designed to address the undermanagement of pain in LTC facilities.
We arranged a 2-day consensus meeting of prominent United States and Canadian pain and public policy experts. An initial document describing the problem of pain undermanagement in LTC was developed and circulated prior to the meeting. Participants were also asked to respond to a list of relevant questions before arriving. Following formal presentations of a variety of proposals and extensive discussion among clinicians and policy experts, a set of recommendations was developed.
We outline key elements of a transformational model of pain management in LTC for the United States and Canada. Consistent with previously formulated clinical guidelines but with attention to readily implementable public policy change in both countries, this transformational model of LTC has important implications for LTC managers and policy makers as well as major quality of life implications for LTC residents.
Pain Medicine 03/2009; 10(3):506-20. · 2.35 Impact Factor
