ELDERLY RECIPIENTS OF HOME NURSING SERVICES - PAIN, DISABILITY AND FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCE

Despite increasing evidence that pain is a problem with which many in their later years must contend, little is known about the experience o f community-dwelling seniors who require the assistance of home nursin g services to remain independent and functional in their homes. This s tudy investigated the prevalence and experience of pain among seniors who were recipients of home nursing services. The study was guided by the World Health Organization Classification of Impairment, Disability and Handicap. Face to face interviews were conducted with 66 individu als who reported whether they were often troubled by pain and/or had e xperienced pain of a noteworthy nature within the 2 weeks prior to the interview. In addition, they responded to standardized questions abou t their pain experience and their levels of disability and functional competence, Findings revealed that although three-quarters of responde nts reported pain, there was no association between pain and measures of disability. Findings, however, revealed an association between pain and measures of funtional competence, more specifically, global funct ion, level of depressive symptomatology, sleep impairment and satisfac tion with life. Implications for nursing include the need for a height ened awareness of the prevalence of pain in community-dwelling older a dults and the development of assessment and intervention strategies th at support their quality of life.