1. Infrequent Assessment of Pain in Elderly Trauma Patients.
- Author
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Spilman, Sarah K., Baumhover, Lisa A., Lillegraven, Cheryl L., Lederhaas, George, Sahr, Sheryl M., Schirmer, Lori L., Smoot, Dustin L., and Swegle, James R.
- Subjects
PREVENTIVE medicine ,PAIN ,ANALYSIS of variance ,EMERGENCY medical services ,PATIENTS ,STATISTICS ,T-test (Statistics) ,WOUND nursing ,DATA analysis ,PAIN measurement ,CONTINUING education units ,RETROSPECTIVE studies ,DATA analysis software ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,OLD age - Abstract
There are inherent difficulties in assessing and managing pain in elderly trauma patients, especially those with chronic health conditions or diminished capacities for self-reporting pain. This retrospective study identifies and describes patterns of pain assessment for a trauma population of older adults (age ≥65 years). Gaps between patient assessments existed in all phases of hospitalization and did not meet hospital guidelines for frequency of assessment. In addition, assessment methods were not always appropriate for the patient population. We conclude that older patients were not assessed for pain frequently enough, and that more regular and routine pain assessments may improve patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2014
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