title: Pain in Community-Dwelling Elderly African Americans.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examines the type, severity, and correlates of pain among underserved elderly African Americans.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study includes 400 non-institutionalized underserved aged African Americans, recruited from 16 African American churches located in South Los Angeles.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two thirds of our participants reported a level of pain of 5 or higher (on a scale of 0-10) for at least one of the pain items. Participants with severe level of pain showed a higher level of insomnia, depression, and deficiency in activity of daily living as well as a lower level of memory function and quality of physical and mental health. Also, level of pain is a statistically significant correlate of office-based physician visits and emergency department admission.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings encourage multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary interventions to include pharmacotherapy, psychological support, and physical rehabilitation, specifically on neuropathic pain among aged African Americans with multiple chronic conditions.
authors.affiliation: Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, USA University of California, Los Angeles, USA mohsenbazargn@cdrewu.edu.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bazargan
authors.affiliation: Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, USA University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
authors.forename: Hamed
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yazdanshenas
authors.affiliation: Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.affiliation: Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, USA Keck Graduate Institutes, Claremont, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Gail
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Orum
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D015141:Los Angeles; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000208:ethnology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
keywords: African Americans; health services; pain; well-being