Pilot project: the chronic pain diary--assessing chronic pain in the nursing home population.
The goal of this pilot project was to evaluate the use of a self-report diary for assessing chronic pain in nursing home residents. Data collected 14 days prior to the use of the diary were compared with data collected 14 days after diary completion. Following diary implementation, pain levels, pain-related nursing entries, and use of as-needed medication increased. There was a statistically significant increase in the number of scheduled medications. Future research, using a randomized design and multiple sites, is needed to examine the effectiveness of self-reported pain diaries in assessing chronic pain in the communicative nursing home population.
Hager
Kathy K
KK
Bellarmine University Lansing School of Nursing, Louisville, Kentucky 40205, USA. khager@bellarmine.edu
Brockopp
Dorothy
D
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004282:Documentation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D009735:Nursing Homes; D009737:Nursing Records; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods* / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012107:Research Design; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015144:Southeastern United States; D013997:Time Factors; D017749:Total Quality Management