title: Knowledge translation: An interprofessional approach to integrating a pain consult team within an acute care unit.
abstract: Management of pain in the frail elderly presents many challenges in both assessment and treatment, due to the presence of multiple co-morbidities, polypharmacy, and cognitive impairment. At Baycrest Health Sciences, a geriatric care centre, pain in its acute care unit had been managed through consultations with the pain team on a case-by-case basis. In an intervention informed by knowledge translation (KT), the pain specialists integrated within the social network of the acute care team for 6 months to disseminate their expertise. A survey was administered to staff on the unit before and after the intervention of the pain team to understand staff perceptions of pain management. Pre- and post-comparisons of the survey responses were analysed by using t-tests. This study provided some evidence for the success of this interprofessional education initiative through changes in staff confidence with respect to pain management. It also showed that embedding the pain team into the acute care team supported the KT process as an effective method of interprofessional team building. Incorporating the pain team into the acute care unit to provide training and ongoing decision support was a feasible strategy for KT and could be replicated in other clinical settings.
authors.affiliation: a Arts and Science Program , McMaster University , Hamilton , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Kira
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.affiliation: b Program Evaluation Unit , Baycrest Health Sciences , Toronto , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berall
authors.affiliation: b Program Evaluation Unit , Baycrest Health Sciences , Toronto , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Jurgis
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Karuza
authors.affiliation: c Department of Family and Community Medicine , Baycrest Health Sciences , Toronto , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Senderovich
authors.affiliation: c Department of Family and Community Medicine , Baycrest Health Sciences , Toronto , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Giulia-Anna
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Perri
authors.affiliation: c Department of Family and Community Medicine , Baycrest Health Sciences , Toronto , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Daphna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grossman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016330:Frail Elderly; D006801:Humans; D010146:Pain; D059408:Pain Management; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical
keywords: Collective learning; integration; interprofessional education; knowledge translation; pain management; team-based practice