The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Aug 2014
Psychiatric disorders and pain treatment in community nursing homes.
Effective pain assessment and pain treatment are key goals in community nursing homes, but residents' psychiatric disorders may interfere with attaining these goals. This study addressed whether (1) pain assessment and treatment obtained by nursing home residents with psychiatric disorders differs from that obtained by residents without psychiatric disorders; (2) this difference is found consistently across the four types of psychiatric disorder most prevalent in nursing homes (dementia, depression, serious mental illness, and substance use disorder); and (3) male gender, non-white, and longer length of stay add to psychiatric disorders to elevate risk of potentially adverse pain ratings and pain treatments. ⋯ Psychiatric disorders besides dementia may impact pain assessment and treatment in nursing homes. Nursing home residents with psychiatric disorders, especially male, non-white, and longer-stay residents, should be targeted for improved pain care.