CHRONIC PAIN IN ELDERLY PEOPLE

Chronic pain in elderly people has only recently begun to receive seri ous empirical consideration. There is compelling evidence that a signi ficant majority of the elderly experience pain which may interfere wit h normal functioning. Nonetheless, a significant proportion of these i ndividuals do not receive adequate pain management. Three significant factors which may contribute to this are (I) lack of proper pain asses sment; (2) potential risks of pharmacotherapy in the elderly; and (3) misconceptions regarding both the efficacy of nonpharmacological pain management strategies and the attitudes of the elderly towards such tr eatments. In this review the most commonly used assessment instruments and patterns of age differences in the experience of chronic pain are described and evidence for the efficacy of psychological pain managem ent strategies for this group is reviewed. (C) 1997 International Asso ciation for the Study of Pain.