Pain and psychological well-being among people with dementia in long-term care

Physiological Biomarkers for Assessment of Pain during Routine Blood Tests for Older Adults with Dementia in Long-Term Residential Care

OBJECTIVE

Evaluating pain in individuals with dementia can be difficult when verbal communication is limited. Vocalization has emerged as a potential avenue for assessments of pain in nonverbal populations. This study aimed to evaluate if physiological assessments of vocalization were correlated with observational assessments of pain during routine blood tests for persons with dementia.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional descriptive study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Sixty older adults (aged ≥65 years old) with dementia requiring routine finger puncture and peripheral venipuncture for routine blood tests were recruited by purposive sampling from 3 long-term care facilities in Taiwan.

METHODS

Observational assessments were conducted with the Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia (PAINAD) instrument; physiological biomarkers of vocalization were assessed with a noninvasive sensing device and microphone (NISDM). Assessments were conducted simultaneously in one session during situations of increasing pain levels: at rest, making a sound, finger puncture, and peripheral venipuncture. PAINAD scores were compared with signal recording measures from the NISDM. Analysis of variance and Pearson correlation coefficient assessed correlations between observational and physiological measures.

RESULTS

Most participants were female (63.3%); mean age was 81.27 years (SD = 9.69); Clinical Dementia Rating was 2.23 ± 0.70; and Mini-Mental State Examination was 7.07 ± 6.95. Signal recording measures using the NISDM during finger puncture and venipuncture were significantly greater compared with measures at rest and making sound, indicating higher signal levels were associated with pain. PAINAD scores were significantly correlated with physiological measures for vocalization variables of sound amplitude (r = 0.49, P < .001), shimmer (r = 0.63, P < .001), and inhalation-to-exhalation amplitude ratio (r = 0.48, P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Elevated vocalizations detected with the NISDM were correlated with increased pain scores on the PAINAD instrument. Physiological measures of pain using novel vocalization biomarkers have the potential to enhance the quality of care for individuals with dementia and limited communication abilities.

Insights to Identifying and Managing Pain in Persons With Dementia in Long-Term Care: A Mixed Methods Study Comparing the Abbey Pain Scale and Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia Scale

Pain is usually identified by specific behaviors driven by the need for relief; however, persons with dementia present a unique challenge for nurses in assessing and managing pain. The aim of this mixed methods study was to explore the relationship between two observational pain scales, expressed need-driven behaviors, and likelihood of medication administration for persons with dementia. The qualitative strand examined nurses' perceptions regarding facilitators and barriers to pain scale use. Quantitative data analysis indicated the Abbey Pain Scale was significantly correlated with behaviors (r[26] = 0.41, p < 0.05) and approached significance with medication administration (r[26] = 0.35, p = 0.067). Qualitative analysis identified three core themes: (a) Challenges in Assessing Persons With Dementia for Pain; (b) Facilitators and Barriers to Pain Management; and (c) Difficulty Caring for Persons With Dementia. Clinical implications suggest the need for a systematic, consistent method of observing pain-related behaviors in persons with dementia. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 47(2), 21-30.].

Shifting Paradigms: Advance Care Planning for Pain Management in Older Adults With Dementia

Ensuring effective pain management is an important quality of life (and death) issue for older adults with dementia, particularly since they are more vulnerable to under-assessment and under-treatment of pain. Yet, pain management decisions are often made by health care providers and caregivers with little to no input on the older adult's with dementia values for pain management. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has recognized the revolutionary imperative to change the manner in which pain care is planned and coordinated. Implementing advance care planning (ACP) prior to advanced stages of dementia may assist in developing a person-centered pain management plan and improve pain care for this population throughout the dementia trajectory. This forum overviews the current state of pain management in dementia, discusses the significance of ACP in a pain management context, and offers practical solutions for common challenges in ACP. Dementia in this article is an umbrella term referring to the many forms of dementiathat cause cognitive impairment.

Characteristics Associated with Quality of Life in Long-Term Care Residents with Dementia: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND

To determine which characteristics are associated with quality of life (QOL) in residents with moderate to very severe dementia in long-term care facilities (LTCFs).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This was a cross-sectional analysis of a cluster randomized controlled study in 12 Dutch LTCFs that enrolled 288 residents, with moderate to severe dementia assessed with the Reisberg Global Deterioration Scale (Reisberg GDS) and QOL with the QUALIDEM. Characteristics that were hypothesized to be associated with the six domains of QOL (applicable to very severe dementia) included demographic variables, activities of daily living (Katz ADL), cognitive performance (Cognitive Performance Scale; CPS), pain (Pain Assessment Checklist for Seniors with Limited Ability to Communicate; PACSLAC-D), neuropsychiatric symptoms (Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Nursing Home Version; NPI-NH) and comorbidities.

RESULTS

Multivariate logistic regression modelling showed associations with age in the domain Social isolation [odds ratio, OR, 0.95 (95% confidence interval, CI, 0.91-0.99)], ADL level in the domain Positive affect [OR 0.89 (95% CI 0.83-0.95)] and the domain Social relations [OR 0.87 (95% CI 0.81-0.93)], severity of dementia in the domain Social relations [OR 0.28 (95% CI 0.12-0.62)] and in the domain Social isolation [OR 2.10 (95% CI 1.17-3.78)], psychiatric disorders in the domain Positive affect [OR 0.39 (95% CI 0.17-0.87)] and pulmonary diseases in the domain Negative affect [OR 0.14 (95% CI 0.03-0.61)] of the QUALIDEM. Neuropsychiatric symptoms were independently associated with all six domains of the QUALIDEM [OR 0.93 (95% CI 0.90-0.96) to OR 0.97 (95% CI 0.95-0.99)]. Pain was associated with the domains Care relationship [OR 0.92 (95% CI 0.84-1.00)] and Negative affect [OR 0.92 (95% CI 0.85-1.00)].

CONCLUSION

QOL in dementia is independently associated with age, ADL, dementia severity, pain, psychiatric disorders, pulmonary diseases and neuropsychiatric symptoms. It is possible to detect persons with dementia at risk for a lower QOL. This information is important for developing personalized interventions to improve QOL in persons with dementia in LTCFs.