Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie
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Comparative Study
Self- and proxy report for the assessment of pain in patients with and without cognitive impairment: experiences gained in a geriatric hospital.
Pain assessment is a complex procedure in patients with different degrees of cognitive impairment. The challenge is to determine whether self-reporting tools are adequate and to identify the cases in which proxy ratings are necessary. ⋯ In the majority of the cases, our approach enables reliable appropriate pain assessment without the strict prerequisite of an upstream cognitive assessment.