Under Treatment of Pain in the Elderly Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Under Treatment of Pain in the Elderly - Essay Example Under Treatment of Pain in the Elderly Roy and Thomas (1986) conducted a survey regarding chronic pain in the elderly. They conducted their study on 132 participants who were either residents of the nursing home or were attending hospital programs. They found that 83% of the patients stated that they, most of the time, suffered from pain which mainly was due to damage in connective tissue. 84% of the participants who reported pain were using analgesics and 16% were not receiving any kind of treatment at all. The participants reported that they had been feeling pain for many years. Researchers found that majority of participants reported low levels of pain accompanied with depression, and none of the participants was being treated for depression. According to the researchers, â€Å"there may be an inclination to underestimate the prevalence and intensity of pain in the elderly† (p.513). Bernabei et al. (1998) studied the treatment of pain and pain management in the elderly patients who were suffering from cancer and were admitted in nursing homes. Theirs was a retrospective, cross-sectional study conducted in 1492 nursing homes located in 5 different states. The population size was 13625 and the participants were 65 years and older. They found that among the total population size, 4003 patients were those who reported daily, regular pain 16% of whom were receiving a WHO level 1 drug, 32% were receiving a WHO level 2 drug, and 26% were those who were being treated with morphine only (p.1880). They also found that as the age grew older, the opportunities for pain treatment became fewer so much so that the patients who were over 85 years did not even receive an analgesic dose. Their study concluded that â€Å"Daily pain is prevalent among nursing home residents with cancer and is often untreated, particularly among older and minority patients† (p.1877). Ahmad and Goucke (2002) conducted their research on the treatment of neuropathic pain in the elderly and pain management strategies. Accor ding to them, neuropathic pain is the hardest to identify and manage in the elderly without inflicting any adverse effects on them, and this leads to its undertreatment. They state that it is important to incorporate non-drug pain management options in the treatment process to reduce the adverse effects that medication inflicts on the elderly. These options may include psychotherapies, exercises, improved life style, and environmental modification. According to them, combined strategies and mixed treatments can prove to be more helpful in treating pain in the elderly. Gagliese and Melzack (1997) also support the fact that the older adults usually receive inadequate pain management. They state there can be three reasons for this: â€Å"lack of proper pain assessment; potential risks of pharmacotherapy in the elderly; and, misconceptions regarding both the efficacy of non-pharmacological pain management strategies and the attitudes of the elderly towards such treatments† (p.3). Supporting the fact that pain treatment becomes less likely because the elderly do not express their pain, there is a research by Manfredi et al. (2002) who studied assessment of pain through facial expressions in the elderly suffering from dementia. They evaluated 9 patients who had â€Å"decubitus ulcers associated with reports of pain during dressing changes†