Pain assessment and management in the long-term care setting

The assessment and management of pain is a significant public health proble m in the United States. Long-term care facilities face unique barriers and challenges to pain management due to the large population of cognitively im paired residents, little physician contact and poor pain education for nurs es and nurse assistants. In addition, common misconceptions about pain and pain treatment in the elderly along with health professional and resident f ears of addiction and drug toxicity, add to the problem of pain management. The basic principles of pain treatment in long-term care are identical to all other health care settings - utilizing a combination of drug and non-dr ug treatments. Recent efforts to institutionalize improved pain management practices, through assessment procedures and defined pain management polici es, standards and education programming, is a promising venue for systemica lly improving pain treatment in long-term care settings.