Rehabil Nurs
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Comparative Study
Psychometric evaluation of selected pain intensity scales for use with cognitively impaired and cognitively intact older adults.
The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of selected pain intensity scales such as the Faces Pain Scale (FPS), the Verbal Descriptor Scale (VDS), the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), and the Iowa Pain Thermometer (IPT) to assess pain in cognitively impaired older adults. A descriptive correlational design was used, and a convenience sample of 66 volunteers age 60 and older residing in assisted living facilities in the South was recruited for this study. The sample included 22 (33%) men and 44 (67%) women, with a mean age of 76. ⋯ Test-retest reliability at a 2-week interval was acceptable in the cognitively intact group (Spearman rank correlations ranged from .67 to .85) and unacceptable for most scales in the cognitively impaired group (correlations ranged from .26 to .67). When asked about scale preference, both the cognitively impaired and the intact groups preferred the IPT and the VDS. This study revealed that cognitive impairment did not inhibit participants' ability to use a variety of pain intensity scales, but the stability issue must be considered.
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The purpose of this study was to explore through a department quality improvement tool a possible relation between quality of life (QOL), complication rates, and length of intrathecal baclofen (IB) treatment as reported by patients receiving IB therapy in a community-based rehabilitation center outpatient clinic. A second objective was to examine complication rates among the clinic's patients. No conclusions could be drawn as to the relation between QOL, various reported complications, and length of treatment. ⋯ Despite the complications reported, 46 patients stated they would recommend baclofen treatment to others. Three patients did not respond to the question. None of the patients said they would not recommend baclofen to others.
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Because Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation has been faced with decreasing patient lengths of stay, increasing patient acuity, and changes in the nurse staffing mix, nurses wanted to ensure that patients and their families were receiving appropriate education and learning the skills required to provide safe and competent self-care in the home. As a result, they developed a patient education action plan. ⋯ Teaching modules that outline and provide all of the information an educator needs to effectively teach a patient or group of patients make up the basis for the MAP system. This article describes the MAP system and the related continuous quality improvement activities, offers documentation forms, and identifies a structural path.