| Learning Objective #1: Describe the pain experience of elderly adults from the use of a quantifiable, standardized assessment tool | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Predict ways to prevent and intervene in pain management for octegenarians/centenarians |
Objectives: Describe the quantifiable, multidimensional pain experience of the old-old.
Design: A descriptive design was used to examine and describe the phenomena of pain among elderly adults.
Population: Sixty-nine English speaking octogenarians/ centenarians(16 males; 53 females) who remain relatively independent in functioning were interviewed in their households or assisted living residences in the southeastern United States.
Variables: The pain phenomenon was investigated assessing its description, rate of intensity, management (pharmacological and non-pharmacological), and how pain interferes with various aspects of life (activity, mood, concentration, sleep, enjoyment and relationships).
Methods: Sixty-nine senior nursing students were instructed on how to assess an older adult's pain as part of their geriatric course assignment. A script was provided for each student including informed consent to conduct the interview survey. The Short Form of the McGill Patient Assessment was used to collect the data.
Findings: Elderly adults experience pain daily with mild to moderate intensity. Approximately fifty per cent indicate there is interference in their life: activity, mood and enjoyment. Muscular and joint pain constitutes the major source and intensity of pain in older adults. Older adults used multiple non-pharmacological approaches to control pain.
Conclusions: Inadequate pain management results in interference in daily life activities and the emotional outlook of older adults. Strategies for prevention, detection, and intervention are needed to manage the multi-dimensional pain experience.
Implications: The results of this study serve as a foundation for a more extensive study that will identify assessment and intervention strategies to improve pain management with the elderly. By having nursing students collect the data, they learn and practice the assessment while working with older adults. This study can be replicated globally to make comparisons of how elderly adults experience pain in different cultures as well as teaching students how to do quantifiable comprehensive pain assessments.
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