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Pain in patients living in Norwegian nursing homes

K Torvik^1*, S Kaasa², Kirkevold³, and T Rustøen⁴

¹ Department of Nursing, Oslo University College, Oslo; Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim
² Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim; Palliative Medicine Unit, Department of Oncology, St. Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim
³ Norwegian Centre for Dementia Research, Vestfold Mental Health Care Trust, Tønsberg, Sem; Department of Health and Sports, University of Agder, Kristiansand
⁴ Department of Nursing, Oslo University College, Oslo; Department of Shared Decision Making and Nursing Research, Rikshospitalet University Hospital, Oslo

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

	Abstract

The aims of this study were to describe the pain and use of pain medication in nursing home patients and examine which variables that were associated with pain. Inpatients (n = 307) older than 64 years from nursing homes were included. Pain was measured with a 4-point verbal rating scale in the self-reported group (SRG) and Doloplus-2 in the proxy-rated group (PRG). The mean age was 86 years (SD, 7), and more than two-thirds were female. A total of 128 (60%) patients were able to self-report their pain. Approximately 50% of the SRG reported ‘pain now', and of these, nearly 50% reported moderate or severe pain intensity. Better cognitive function was associated with higher pain and receiving more potent pain medication in the SRG. The pain prevalence in the PRG was higher than in the SRG (67.5% vs 51%), but no variable was associated with proxy-rated pain. Nearly 30% in the SRG and 40% in the PRG did not receive pain medication in spite of pain. Pain is still a huge problem in the nursing homes, and more research is needed on pain management in nursing home residents.

Key Words: Doloplus-2, nursing home, pain

First published on October 24, 2008, doi:10.1177/0269216308098800

Palliative Medicine 2009;23:8.

A more recent version of this article appeared on January 1, 2009


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