title: Pain and persistent pain in nursing home residents in Norway.
abstract: The objective of this study was to examine the nature of pain and persistence of pain in nursing home residents. The study was carried out with 201 participants drawn from six nursing homes in Norway. The participants rated their pain on 5 different days within a 14-day period on the modified McGill Pain Questionnaire regarding the intensity and location of pain. Four patterns in the persistence of pain were extracted, with the results showing approximately 50% of the participants experiencing persistent pain of a moderate to intense level. Pain ratings and persistent pain were significantly associated with number of body areas with pain, sleeping problems, number of medical diagnoses, and number of medications. The findings of this study suggest that both persistence and fluctuation of pain within short time periods may be related to inadequacy in pain management in nursing home residents, and fill the gap in the literature regarding patterns of persistent pain in nursing home residents.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, Buskerud University College, Drammen, Norway. Bjorg.T.Landmark@hibu.no
authors.forename: Bjørg T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Landmark
authors.forename: Siv Venke
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Gran
authors.forename: Hesook Suzie
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D009735:Nursing Homes; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D015995:Prevalence