American journal of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias
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Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen · Apr 2007
Use of the certified nursing assistant pain assessment tool (CPAT) in nursing home residents with dementia.
The purpose of this study was to develop a pain assessment tool utilized by certified nursing assistant (CNA) direct-care providers for nursing home residents with dementia and to examine the impact of such a tool on their function, behavior, or medication use. In the first phase, 41 items from an observational pain assessment tool were correlated with an objective pain "gold standard"; 12 statistically significant items were retained and used in the CNA pain assessment tool. ⋯ A pain assessment tool utilized by CNA direct-care providers can be developed for use in nursing home residents with dementia. Further study is required to determine whether the use of such a tool will improve their function or quality of life.