Impact of pain on recreational activities of nursing home residents

The high prevalence of pain in older adults in nursing homes and long-term care institutions is a challenging problem. Nursing home residents were que stioned to evaluate whether pain might be an obstacle to their active parti cipation in recreational activities, especially physical activities. This s tudy shows that the intensity and daily experience of pain are both obstacl es to participation in physical activities, especially in the oldest patien ts. The findings also show, that participation is linked to the autonomy of the patient; more information about the benefits of physical activity, and coordinating efforts in this area are needed in order to help the elderly preserve their autonomy and quality of life.