Der Schmerz
-
In recent years, the influence of doctors' and therapists' attitudes and beliefs for the treatment of chronic low back pain patients has been increasingly investigated. Attitudes and beliefs of health care providers have been identified as important contributors for an activity based, guideline-oriented therapeutic approach and different questionnaires were developed to evaluate this interaction. Recent reviews discuss the quality of those questionnaires as well as the impact of attitudes towards therapeutic choices and activity recommendations by health care professionals. ⋯ Overall, it must be assumed that attitudes and beliefs of clinicians are also important in the care of older patients in pain. With regards to activity recommendations, ageism and the special situation of older people should also be taken into account including possible risk of falling, multimorbidity, polypharmacy, and cognitive impairment. These topics should all be considered in adapted or newly developed questionnaires for the evaluation of attitudes and beliefs of health care providers regarding back pain in older persons.
-
Multicenter Study
[Patients with pain in outpatient care : A nationwide cross-sectional survey with path model].
There is limited knowledge on the degree of pain and pain-related impairments in home care clients. This study was carried out to provide data on the prevalence of pain and pain-related impairments in home care patients and to investigate the impact on activities of daily living and on classification into the three levels of care as defined by the statutory German long-term care insurance. ⋯ Even though the majority of home care clients in this representative study suffered from pain, the degree of pain intensity only becomes an issue in home care if it concurs with impairments in daily living and a corresponding classification to higher levels of care dependency. These findings suggest that pain and pain management should receive more attention in home care, irrespective of observable impairments in daily living. In practice, nurses in home care services should regularly assess the level of pain intensity among home care clients and the results of these regular pain assessments should be taken into account for the identification of individual care needs.
-
Multicenter Study Comparative Study
[Pain therapy in German long-term care facilities in a European comparison : Results of the SHELTER study].
A considerable number of nursing home residents suffering from pain are insufficiently treated. International comparisons of pain management in German (GER) and other European (EU) nursing homes are still lacking. ⋯ The data demonstrate significant deficits in the recognition and treatment of pain in residents living in German or other European nursing home facilities. Further scope for improvement is seen in better recognition of relevant pain, in the adequate use of PRN and long-term medication and especially in the use of activating non-pharmacological treatment.