Pain management nursing practice assessment in older adults with dementia

Alícia Minaya-Freire; Mireia Subirana-Casacuberta; Emma Puigoriol-Juvanteny; Anna Ramon-Aribau

doi:10.1002/nop2.880

Pain management nursing practice assessment in older adults with dementia

Nurs Open. 2021 Nov;8(6):3349-3357. doi: 10.1002/nop2.880. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Authors

Alícia Minaya-Freire^{1

2}, Mireia Subirana-Casacuberta^{2

3}, Emma Puigoriol-Juvanteny^{1

4}, Anna Ramon-Aribau²

Affiliations

¹ University Hospital Of Vic-Vic Hospital Consortium (HUV-CHV). C. Francesc Plà "El Vigatà", Vic, Barcelona, Spain.
² Research Group on Methodology, Methods, Models and Health and social Outcomes (M3O), Faculty of Health Science and Welfare, Centre for Health and Social Care Research (CESS), University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (UVIC-UCC). C. Sagrada Família, Vic, Barcelona, Spain.
³ Nursing Department, Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari, Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí I3PT, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Sabadell, Spain.
⁴ Tissue Repair and Regeneration Laboratory (TR2Lab), Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia, Faculty of Medicine, University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia. C. Sagrada Família, Vic, Barcelona, Spain.

Abstract

Aim: To assess pain management nursing practice in older adults with dementia through electronic health records (EHR).

Design: Retrospective study.

Methods: Data were collected from EHR related to pain management in older adults with dementia treated at the Acute Geriatrics Unit (AGU) of a university hospital in early 2018.

Results: EHR related to the pain of 111 patients were reviewed. Pain intensity was assessed at admission in 88% of patients and a median of 1.9 times per day of stay. A disproportionate number of the assessments (39%) occurred during the late shift. A median of 1 drug per day was administered. Pain was recorded in 28% of patients' care plans, and non-pharmacological interventions were recorded in 12%. In conclusion, exist variability in pain management nursing practice in older adults with dementia. Admission diagnosis correlated with the analgesic administration schedule, the number of drugs administered and the number of pain nursing annotations.

Keywords: acute care; comfort; dementia; nurses; nursing care; pain management.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Dementia*
Humans
Pain / diagnosis
Pain Management*
Pain Measurement
Retrospective Studies